Gardaí have referred Thursday's fatal shooting of a 43-year-old man in south Mayo to the Director of Public Prosecutions following yesterday's release of a man who had been held for questioning.
The man was released without charge shortly before 5 p.m. yesterday. The scene at the farmhouse at Funshona where Thursday's shooting of Mr John Ward took place is still being preserved by the Garda Síochána for further technical examination.
The man had been arrested under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act on Thursday evening after the shooting, which took place at about 2.20 p.m. Mr Ward, a father of 11 children, who was living at Carrowbrowne halting site in Co Galway, was fatally injured and his body was found across the road from the house. He was pronounced dead at the scene by a local doctor at about 2.55 p.m.
Mr Ward's son, Tom (18), was detained for questioning under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act but was released without charge on Thursday night. A preliminary post-mortem was carried out at the scene by the State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, and Mr Ward's remains were removed for a full post-mortem yesterday to Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar.
Chief Supt John Carey, who is leading the investigation, said that he could not go into any detail on the post-mortem report. "Any debate or discussion may be prejudicial to charges that may arise," Chief Supt Carey said.
A legally held shotgun was removed from the scene on Thursday, and it is also understood that a vehicle in which the Wards had been travelling was impounded for a period.
Neighbours living in the area near the north-eastern shores of Lough Corrib were reluctant to comment publicly on the shooting yesterday, but several stated that they understood that the house had been broken into February, and there was an attempted break-in in May. Several neighbours said that they had been living in fear, and felt that the Garda should have more of a presence.
Earlier this week, gardaí in north Galway issued a reminder about the vulnerability of elderly people in rural areas.
The funeral of Mr Ward takes place in Ballyshannon, Co Donegal, this weekend.