Vivienne Clarke
Tipperary councillor Mark Fitzgerald is calling for support for the local community in the wake of a tragedy where an elderly couple was found dead in their home.
Yesterday, gardaí confirmed their bodies had been discovered on Monday afternoon in the townland of Cloneen, near the Tipperary-Kilkenny border.
Early indications suggest both bodies were undiscovered for a period of time.
Cllr Fitzgerald said the area was "shell shocked" by the news, adding that the issue had been compounded by comments on social media criticising the fact the couple had not been discovered sooner.
The "rush to conclusions" when "no one knows the full story" of the "very sad circumstances" was very hurtful for the community, he told his local radio.
Social media could be a "very nasty and negative platform" and people were very upset at the "rumours and idle talk".
It was very unfair to speculate about what had or had not happened, he added.
This was a small rural community unfamiliar with media scrutiny he said, and the residents were upset and shocked at what had happened. There was an ongoing garda investigation, Cllr Fitzgerald added.
Cllr Fitzgerald added there was on ongoing garda investigation into the matter, while "people are talking for the sake of talking" without knowing exactly what had happened.
