The discovery of an elderly couple dead in their home in Cloneen, Co. Tipperary left locals and the country in shock.
Nicholas (Nick) and Hilary Smith, aged 81 and 79 respectively, originally from the UK, were found dead in separate rooms of the house on Monday.
The white pebble-dashed detached bungalow is situated along a rural road between the villages of Cloneen on the R692 Kilkenny to Cashel Road and Mullinahone, around 15km from Clonmel and 35km from Kilkenny city.
READ MORE: All we know so far after couple discovered dead in house after 18 months
Monday, June 20
Gardaí made their way to the scene on Monday, where they made the grim discovery.
The couple were found dead in the home in separate rooms.
An investigation into the deaths was quickly launched.
Monday evening, June 20
Locals confirmed that the couple were last seen in the local area in November 2020, and despite their car remaining at the property, they believed they were due to travel to France around and that they had arranged for someone to maintain their garden whilst they were away.
A local source said on Monday: "Some neighbours thought they had moved away, but sadly that wasn't the case.
"The couple very much kept to themselves, and not many would have known them personally but only on hello terms if they passed them walking or that sort of thing."
Other members of the tight-knit community of Cloneen said: "It's such a shock for everyone. It seems their bodies were there for a long time.
"They told people they were emigrating to France or somewhere in late 2020, so people were under the assumption they had moved away," a shocked local told this paper.
"It's just shocking. It's awfully sad, and everyone is in disbelief, floored and shell-shocked. It's very tragic," another upset local said.
Another said: "It's wicked shocking. Something like this has never happened around here before. I just can't understand it. Everyone is in shock."
The village's local councillor and publican of The Thatch pub, Mark Fitzgerald, said he too had been shocked over the couple's deaths.
With a population of only 60 residents in the small, rural agricultural village and 600 residents in the hinterland, the couple "kept to themselves," according to Cllr Fitzgerald.
"As a local councillor and publican, you'd think that you'd know everything, but up until this tragic event, I never heard of the couple or seen them.
"We are a small, tight-knit community, and everyone is in shock and disbelief. One local said to me, 'Mark, you see these things on the news, and you never expect it to be coming live from our village."
Thursday, June 23
Gardai were main aware that the Smiths had written a letter to a local resident in the autumn of 2020 in which they said they were leaving the area.
Gardaí are understood to have seen a letter written by either Nicholas Smith or his wife Hilary, in which one of them writes that another English couple are coming to stay at the house.
The letter also urged the woman not to worry if she saw "strangers" at the house.
She had called to the house around September or October 2020 to check that they were all right and to offer to do the shopping for them.
A short while later, the couple put the letter through the woman's letterbox.
They said they were sorry that they were out when she had called and that they were very thankful that she had taken the time to check up on them.
Friday, June 24
Investigating gardai said Mr Smith is believed to have died of natural causes while his wife's cause of death has been deemed as inconclusive.
Gardaí now hope to use laboratory and toxicology tests to determine the cause of death because of the condition of the bodies.
Dental records and DNA were used in the identification of the deceased.
A search for any relatives of the couple is underway as so far. No one has been contacted about the deaths.
A carton of milk dating back to 2020 was found in the pair's fridge, causing gardai to believe it may have been around this time that the Smith's passed away.
Gardai are investigating "all circumstances", including Covid links, but early indications show that there may have been no foul play. There was no sign of forced entry at the house.
Gardai are also conducting a search of the house for bills, bank statements and food with best before dates to narrow down the date they were last believed to have been alive.
Gardai from Clonmel will conduct door-to-door enquiries to determine the couple's last known sighting and have appealed for anyone with information on the couple's last known movements to contact them.
Gardaí says they are keeping an open mind in their investigation into the double tragedy.
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