Gardaí in Thurles were last night continuing to question a 23-year-old man in connection with the murder of a 50-year-old father of six.
He died after being shot while watching television in his home in Co Tipperary on Sunday afternoon.
The dead man has been named locally as Christy Lane from Ballydavid, two miles from Littleton village. He died in Waterford Regional Hospital at 11.50pm on Sunday after being transferred there from Cashel Hospital.
Gardaí believe Mr Lane was sitting on a sofa with his wife watching the All-Ireland minor hurling final when a man, thought to be known to him, entered the house at about 2pm carrying a double-barrelled shotgun.
He shot Mr Lane twice and then left the house, firing a third shot in the air before leaving the scene on foot.
It is believed Mr Lane's wife raised the alarm and contacted gardaí in Thurles, five miles away.
Two detectives, who were sent to the scene, met a man carrying a shotgun half a mile from the Lane home. They arrested him without a confrontation and recovered a gun.
The man was taken to Thurles Garda station where he was held under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.
Yesterday, Supt Tony Cogan confirmed that gardaí were treating the death as murder.
He said gardaí had preserved the scene of the shooting and that it had been forensically examined by members of the Garda Technical Bureau.
State Pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy carried out a post-mortem on Mr Lane's body at Waterford Regional Hospital yesterday. This confirmed that he had suffered two gunshot wounds to his abdomen.
Gardaí yesterday carried out door to door inquiries at houses along the quiet country boreen where Mr Lane lived.
Supt Cogan said gardaí had received a good response to their inquiries but he appealed to anyone who may have noticed anything suspicious in the area between 1.30pm and 2pm on Sunday to contact Thurles Garda station on 0504-25100.
Supt Cogan said it was a particularly tragic case and required sensitive handling. "Everybody who dies in such circumstances is a tragedy and this is a tragedy for the people of the area, particularly the family involved.
"It is an extremely sensitive matter and we would like to have it treated as such," he told a press briefing yesterday.
Yesterday, neighbours had laid a bouquet of flowers at the entrance to the Lane home.
Mr Lane worked as a shift supervisor at a Bord na Móna factory in Littleton.
A native of Mallow, he is survived by his wife, Mary, sons, Michael, Paul, David, Brendan and Patrick and his daughter, Mary Margaret, who range in age from their mid-teens to mid-20s.
One local person said the killing had shocked everyone in the community. "We were here watching the minor hurling match on telly when we got a phone call at half-time telling us that something terrible had happened. Everyone here is shocked, the lads at the factory were stunned. Christy was a lovely fellow, an absolute gentleman. I couldn't say a word against him - it's very sad and a terrible tragedy for the family."
