Damien Conlon has been named locally as the Irish man who was killed in Oberon, New South Wales, Australia on February 9.
Conlon, 38, was suffering a gunshot wound when officers from Chifley Police District responded to a home on Jenolan Street shortly after 8 am local time on Thursday.
New South Wales Police said he was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics; however, he died at the scene.
A 57-year-old man, who has been named in media reports as Luke Simon, was arrested at the house and taken to Bathurst Police Station to assist with inquiries.
A crime scene was established which was examined by specialist forensic police, and a firearm was seized for further examination.
Following inquiries, the 57-year-old man was charged with murder and refused bail to appear in Bathurst Local Court on Friday, February 10. He will be in jail until his next court appearance in April.
Initial inquiries suggest the two men were known to each other, police said.
Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs said it was aware of the case and is providing consular assistance.
In 2021, Conlon spoke with the local publication Western Advocate upon receiving his Australian citizenship.
"I've literally been out here for 10 years, since May 19, 2011, and it's basically taken me the whole duration of that time to get the Australian citizenship," Conlon said at the time.
Conlon, a carpenter by trade, had originally come to Australia from Ireland on a working holiday visa "just to do a bit travel and look for a new way of life."
"I was only meant to come out for six months," Conlon said, "but I ended up getting a year-long working holiday visa and then things evolved from there.
"I started running a business, then I ran a second business and then it led to a pretty large excavation business."
Conlon had been in Bathurst, less than an hour from Oberon, for nearly a year and a half prior to getting his Australian citizenship.
"I'd settle down here," Conlon said. "It's a lovely spot. It's rural, it's beautiful, it's quiet, it's laid back and people are beautiful."
He added: "This is the best country in the world. There's no better place to live, I reckon."
In Ireland, Conlon's hometown is in "shock" upon the "terrible tragedy," Mayor of Sligo, Municipal District Councillor Tom MacSharry told the Irish Times.
“Damien was a lovely fellow and comes from a very well-respected family," MacSharry said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with them.”
Local Sinn Féin councillor Arthur Gibbons, who knew Conlon and his family in Sligo, described him as “a live wire” who could “light up any room."
“He was a fun-loving guy, full of mischief and full of fun. We are devastated that he is gone,” he said.
Gibbons further told The Sligo Champion: "Damien was a livewire, full of mystery, full of fun, there wasn’t a bad bone in his body.
"In my own personal experience, I always loved his company, he could light up any room, he’d just come in and he’d have the craic with everybody, he was able to give it, he was able to take it, the banter used to be brilliant."
Gibbons added: "He was one of life’s good people with a huge extended family around Sligo."
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