Elderly man found dead days after burglary at his home

An elderly Dunboyne man found dead in his home on Saturday morning last died of natural causes, local Gardai say. A post mortem carried out on the remains of Mr Joe Tevlin from Grange, Dunboyne, showed that his death was as a result of natural causes. Gardai had requested the post mortem as the elderly man had been the victim of an alleged burglary and attack earlier in the week at his home outside the village. The late Mr Tevlin had reported to Gardai that a sum of cash had been taken in a burglary at his home on Wednesday of last week, during which he was assaulted. Gardai are still carrying out their investigations into that reported incident. Mr Tevlin was a bachelor in his 70s who lived alone at Grange with no close relatives. He was a well-known character around the village, and would visit Dunboyne a number of times a week. He is reported to have been in poor health in recent times, and was attending hospital both prior to and after the alleged incident on Wednesday last. His remains are reposing at Dunboyne Funeral Directors, with the removal today (Wednesday), following prayers at 10.20am, to the Church of Ss Peter & Paul, Dunboyne, for 11am Requiem Mass. Burial takes place afterwards in Rooske Cemetery. Meanwhile, the lack of a full-time Garda presence in Dunboyne is becoming an increasing worry for residents of Dunboyne, according to Senator Dominic Hannigan of Labour. 'Residents have complained to me that there was a near riot in the town recently and it was 30 minutes before the Garda arrived from Ashbourne,' Senator Hannigan claimed. 'While this is a good response time, if there were Gardai based in Dunboyne, they could have been there in a few minutes.' Senator Hannigan claimed that there was a spate of attempted burglaries in one estate recently and another concern is that there are lots of revellers on the streets after pub closing time in the early hours of the morning. 'I have written to the Minister for Justice, Dermot Ahern, asking for a full-time Garda Station in Dunboyne. 'This is a growing town and, apart from local law and order issues, it is within easy driving distance for criminals from Dublin. Once the motorway is complete, Dunboyne will become even more vulnerable. A full-time station is needed urgently,' he added.