A local community is in shock this morning following an apparent murder/suicide in Cavan yesterday.
Alan Hawe – who was in his 40s and originally from Windgap in Kilkenny – was found dead by gardaí along with his wife Clodagh and their three sons in their house outside Ballyjamesduff.
A neighbour of the Hawe family in Windgap has told KCLR News the whole community is in complete shock and people are finding it hard to comprehend the tragedy – describing the whole situation as “surreal”.
Clodagh Hawe was in her 30s and from the locality, Liam was 13, Naill was 11 and Ryan was just 6 years old.
Psychologists have been dispatched to Castlerahan National School where Alan Hawe taught and where Niall and Ryan were pupils to help teachers and pupils to come to terms with a tragedy locals have described as ‘soul-destroying’ and ‘heartbreaking’.
Post mortems will begin at Our Lady of Lourdes in Drogheda today – but here in County Cavan, the investigation into exactly what led to the deaths of a young family well loved by their community will continue.