Updated 8.50am
POST-MORTEMS ARE due to be carried out today on two elderly brothers who were found dead at a house in Dublin.
The bodies were discovered at their home in Millrose Estate in Bluebell after neighbours alerted gardaí when they had not seen one of the brothers for some time.
The men have been named locally as Daniel and William McCarthy. They were both in their 70s.
Their bodies were removed from the property yesterday.
The brothers were deaf and had lived together for over two decades. One is believed to have died some time before the other.
Gardaí said the deaths are not being treated as suspicious and the results of the post-mortems will determine the course of their investigation.
Speaking on Morning Ireland, local independent councillor Paul Hand said: “People in the area are shocked and very saddened at what has happened.
“They were both deaf and they couldn’t speak, but they could communicate through sign or written language.
“Everyone in the estate knew them and they kept themselves to themselves … members of the community would check in with them now and again.”
Hand said the brothers had lived together for more than 25 years.
Social isolation
Justin Moran, head of advocacy and communications with Age Action, told the same programme the situation was “utterly heartbreaking”.
He said it highlighted that people can become socially isolated, sometimes at their own wish, in both urban and rural settings.
Moran praised the brothers’ neighbours and noted how important it is for people to look out for others in their community.
He said “people don’t want to be seen as nosy or interfering” but “reaching out is always appreciated”.
“Nobody ever wants to end their days in the type of scenario that has happened to the McCarthys … It is an unusual incident, but I think it speaks to a greater issue of social isolation.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say