Irish leader Enda Kenny was among the mourners who turned out to pay their respects to slain brothers Jack, 70, and Tom Blaine, 68, in Castlebar on Monday.

The badly beaten bodies of the two elderly brothers were discovered in their home on New Antrim Street in Castlebar last Wednesday. Both bachelors, Jack and Tom worked in England but returned home in the 1980s to look after their mother Delia in her final years. The
two brothers suffered from physical disabilities and were mentally impaired.

Fr Michael Farragher, curate at the Church of the Holy Rosary in Castlebar told mourners at the funeral mass on Monday how the town was still in shock over the double murder.

“Since that morning, this parish has been engulfed by horror, shock, disbelief and fear,” Fr Farragher said.

Following the ceremony, first cousin of the victims Paul Dunne thanked all those who had helped with the funeral.

The men's remains were later removed to the Castlebar New Cemetery where they were buried alongside their mum Delia and brother Michael Joe.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny, who knew them personally, described their deaths as "an act of savagery."

Alan Cawley, 26, from Ballina, Co Mayo, has been charged with their murder.