Man’s body ‘possibly’ in house for 7 months
The body of an 85-year-old man which was discovered at his home in Cork on Friday may have been undiscovered for seven months.
Ritchie Scanlan’s body was discovered at his home in Madden’s Buildings in Blackpool on the northside of Cork City at 12pm on Friday. A neighbour called to the property and contacted gardaí after making the discovery.
Gardaí are not treating the incident as suspicious. It is believed Mr Scanlan died of natural causes. An autopsy was conducted on the body at Cork University Hospital (CUH) and a file will be prepared for the coroner.
Mr Scanlan’s funeral will take place tomorrow at 11am. He is survived by his sister Joan, sister-in-law Pauline and extended family and friends.
The lord mayor of Cork, Blackpool-based councillor John Sheehan, passed on his sympathies to Mr Scanlan’s family. He described Mr Scanlan as “an absolute gentleman” and said that the community in Blackpool is shocked.
It is the second such incident to happen in Cork this year. In May, the body of George Harrington was found in his apartment in the Glen, also on the northside. Gardaí said it was likely that his body had been there for “a number of months”.
A Garda source said these incidents, unfortunately, are not unusual and happen “several times per year”.
Age Action Cork national development manager John O’Mahony called on communities to keep an eye on elderly and vulnerable people.
“It is sad and unacceptable that this type of thing can happen,” said Mr O’Mahony. “More needs to be done to consolidate the services available to people and to make sure that nobody falls through the cracks.”
