A WOMAN HAS died and a man has been arrested after a siege in Cavan last night.

The man barricaded himself in The Square Bar in the small town of Bailieborough yesterday, shortly after a woman was found shot dead in the area.

After a tense stand-off involving gardaí which lasted for several hours, the 56-year-old man was arrested at around 3am.

He is currently in custody at Bailieborough Garda Station under the provisions of Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007.

The scene at the pub is preserved for a technical examination.

The body of a 56-year-old woman was discovered at a house in Drumbannon, Bailieboro, Co Cavan yesterday evening. The scene is currently preserved and the services of the State Pathologist and Garda Technical Bureau have been requested.

Town shut down

A large part of the town was shut down and all roads leading into Bailieborough were closed as the dramatic events unfolded. Local residents were ordered to stay in their homes and both the Garda Armed Response Unit and an Army bomb disposal team were involved.

Local priest Oliver O’Reilly told Morning Ireland that he had spent time with the deceased woman’s family, and that he knew her “very well”. He said her four adult children were on their way back from Australia to Bailieborough and were “totally devastated” by the news.

Fr O’Reilly said that he felt “a great sense of shock and dismay” at what occurred, and that the incident was “not normal” in Bailieborough.

The man is believed to have walked into The Square Bar with a gun earlier this evening and ordered the people inside it to leave. At one stage it is believed that he held the gun to a Garda’s head.

The man locked himself in and retreated to the basement of the pub on his own.

A special unit team of the gardaí used CCTV from the pub to monitor the man’s actions as negotiations took place.

It is believed there was a threat of the man having an explosive device with him while in the pub.

Gardaí requested a media blackout throughout the incident, asking media organisations to refrain from covering what was happening in Bailieborough.

Gardai are appealing for witnesses that may have been in the Drumbannon housing estate yesterday and may have seen anything unusual or suspicious or to anyone who can assist with this investigation to contact the incident room at Bailieborough Garda Station 042-9694570, The Garda Confidential Telephone Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.

- Additional reporting Aoife Barry