"No one ever expects this" - Shock as dad and son dead in a suspected murder-suicide

The remains of his father, Wayne O’Reilly, aged 48, were discovered at the rear of a house in Cherry Orchard, Ballyfermot, Dublin, at approximately 8.30 am yesterday, after gardaí and emergency services were called to the scene.

After follow-up enquiries, the body of Mr O’Reilly’s 11-year-old son Oisín was discovered at his home at Lealand Road, Clondalkin, later that morning.

It’s understood that fifth-class pupil Oisín died violently and that his father later took his own life.

Gardaí [Irish police] are investigating the deaths as a murder-suicide. Both locations were sealed off and preserved for forensic examination by the Garda Technical Bureau, and the Office of the State Pathologist has been called on, gardaí said.

The remains of the father and son were removed from their respective scenes to the city morgue, and postmortems are set to be carried out in due course.

Clondalkin, where Oisin O'Reilly (11) was found.

Both Mr O’Reilly and his son had been reported missing for several days last October, leading to an urgent nationwide appeal to find them before they were discovered safe. The pair had been last seen in Clondalkin before 7 am on Friday, October 17, and Gardaí announced that the search was called off the following Sunday.

Shortly before 4 pm yesterday in Clondalkin, after Oisín’s body had been removed from the scene, a small boy in a primary school uniform approached the Garda cordon with his mother.

In a poignant moment, the boy carried a bouquet of sunflowers to a nearby garda and asked if the flowers could be placed near the house. The garda then set them down against the wall of the front garden.

Neighbours at the scene of the tragedy told Extra.ie they were completely shocked by the incident, and many said they had frequently seen Mr O’Reilly playing with his son in the green area close to the house.

It’s understood that Mr O’Reilly had grown up at the home and attended the nearby primary school directly opposite it. Oisín was in fifth class at the school at the time of the incident.

Another older family member was also living in the family home at the time, it is understood. One local woman stated that she had seen Mr O’Reilly with his son and with younger children playing on the green area and had always thought he was a caring parent.

Ballyfermot, where Wayne O'Reilly's body was discovered.

"He had been missing for a while before Christmas, and I wrote him a card when he was back to say that I thought he was a great dad. Just to let him know people were there for him,’ she said. ‘He would always help you if you needed help with your car tyres, too. We’re very shocked by what happened, but how could we have known? Everyone has their struggles. It’s so difficult to deal with."

She added that there were "three generations" living at the home. Another older woman living just a few doors away from the scene told Extra.ie that she had been living next to the family for almost two decades.

"I know them from when he was a boy. He went to that school. I would see him walking with the son all the time, and, of course, no one ever expects this. It was a very bad shock this morning when gardaí arrived. It’s just terrible," she said.

It’s understood that schoolmates of Oisín attended school yesterday morning and that Garda activity outside the residence would have been visible from the playground of the school building.

A local man who claimed to have known Mr O’Reilly for many years said that he considered the deceased to be "one of the best men I knew" and was shocked that he would commit such an act.

"He was never into drugs or anything that would mess with your head. I have no clue what would lead someone to this. It’s horrible," he said.

* This article was originally published on Extra.ie.