A double-inquest has heard how a father and son were found dead at their home in Co Donegal just two days before Christmas.
The bodies of Daniel and Damien Duffy were discovered at their property in Windyhall on the outskirts of Letterkenny on 23 December, 2021.
The pair were found after a carer called to their bungalow home at 10.30am.
Daniel Duffy, 88, was found dead in his bed. His son Damien, 50, was found a short time later by gardaí in a disused car in a shed at the rear of the home.
The inquests at Letterkenny Courthouse heard evidence from a number of garda witnesses as well as pathologist, Dr Sally Ann Collis.
HSE care assistant Bridgeen Doherty told the inquest of calling to the house and finding the front door unlocked and calling into the bedroom to check on Daniel Doherty.
The blinds were pulled down and Ms Doherty addressed Mr Duffy saying: "Well Danny, what's the craic?"
Mr Duffy did not reply and when she turned on the light, Ms Doherty said it was obvious that he had died.
She said she initially presumed he had died in his sleep and called the emergency services. However, she then noticed there was blood on the bed and on Mr Duffy's neck and ear.
She added that she then shouted for Mr Duffy's son Damien but was not sure why she did that as, "he was never there".
She then moved into the living area but scraped her hand on broken glass on the door and noticed that the door was black with soot and knew immediately that something was wrong.
Gardaí arrived and spoke to Ms Doherty and she then left at 11.30am to continue her work.
Ms Doherty told the inquest that she had been looking after Mr Doherty for five years since 2021.
She added "He was a lovely man, a real gentleman, I loved Danny."
Garda Sergeant Elaine Gordon told the inquest she arrived at the house at 10.36am and found the deceased in the bedroom.
She attempted to phone Mr Duffy's son Damien but got no response.
Sergeant Gordon said she found dark bruising on the deceased man's right hand as well as blood on his left ear and on his pillow.
She then moved to the kitchen and realised there had been a fire there.
When questioned by the coroner on Mr Duffy's death, Sergeant Gordon said her suspicions had been aroused and something "didn't add up", when she noticed blood coming out of his ear and also some hair on the bed.
A doctor from the local Arc Medical Centre was called and he pronounced Mr Duffy dead at 3.15pm.
Garda Sergeant Aidan Doherty, a Scene of Crimes officer, said that due to the nature of the injuries, the blood and the clump of hair on the bed, he suspected there had been an interaction with another person.
Fire was most likely set intentionally
Detective Sergeant Seamus O'Donnell of the ballistics division at Garda Headquarters in Dublin, told how he also examined the scene.
He explained why he did not think the fire was caused by an electrical fault as the main trip switch had not tripped in the house
He added that his conclusion was that the fire was most likely set intentionally at the rear of the living room area by lighting a newspaper or something else flammable.
Pathologist Dr Sally Ann Collis appeared by videolink at the inquests and said an external examination had shown there was evidence of blunt force trauma and that Mr Duffy had received bruises and lacerations to his head, neck and upper limbs.
Dr Collis added that Mr Duffy also suffered bruising on the backs of his forearms and that these may have been defensive in nature and possibly attempted restraint.
Coroner Dr McCauley asked investigating Garda Inspector Sean McDaid his opinion on how Mr Duffy died.
He replied that it was his opinion that he died as a result of blunt force head injuries caused by an intracerebral hemorrhage inflicted by another.
Concerning the death of Damien Duffy, Garda Sergeant Elaine Gordon told the inquest that after finding Daniel Duffy deceased in his bed, they became concerned for his son Daniel.
They initially searched woods in the Kirkstown area but then searched a shed at the back of the Windyhall house.
In a shed they discovered Mr Duffy deceased in the driver's seat of a Peugeot 206 GTI car. A petrol leaf blower was also found in the vehicle.
Pathologist Dr Collis told the inquest that it was her opinion that Damien Duffy had died as a result of carbon monoxide toxicity due to inhaling toxins.
Unanimous verdicts
The inquest jury, comprised of five men and three women, were asked to return findings in both deaths and to confirm the cause of death. They returned unanimous verdicts in both cases.
In the case of Daniel Duffy, the jury found he died as a result of blunt force head injuries (intracerebral hemorrhaging) inflicted by another.
The jury also found that the cause of death was blunt force trauma.
And in the case of his son, Damien, the jury found that he died as a result of carbon monoxide toxicity inhalation of products of combustion, namely a petrol leaf blower in a confined space.
They found that death was as a result of suicide.
Coroner Dr Denis McCauley thanked the jury, care assistant Ms Bridgeen Doherty and the gardaí for their approach to the case.
"When there is a death in the family it is a really traumatic thing. When there are two deaths at the same time it is really, really difficult and any issue that deviates from the fact that the person or their relative has died is always a distraction in their actual grieving process.
"It is hard to lose someone, but when there are peripheral matters..... we can't change those peripheral matters but hopefully today by understanding what happened allows those to be almost set aside now so that you can get on with the grieving of father and brother and hopefully that, although this was difficult to bear, that there would be some benefit from it."
