Man arrested on suspicion of murder

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder by Irish police investigating the disappearance of farmer Michael Gaine.

It comes a day after gardaí (Irish police) searching a site near Mr Gaine’s farm confirmed they had found partial human remains.

Mr Gaine, 56, has been missing for more than eight weeks. He was initially treated as a missing persons case before it was upgraded to a homicide on 29 April.

The man, in his 50s, is being held in custody as searches and technical examinations at the site near Mr Gaine’s farm continue.

On Saturday, gardaí said DNA analysis would be carried out on the human remains before they can be identified.

Mr Gaine, a sheep and cattle farmer, was reported missing from his home near Kenmare on Friday, 21 March. He was last seen in the County Kerry town the previous day.

He lived in the remote Carrig East area close the Molls Gap beauty spot along the renowned Ring of Kerry.

Last month, Michael Gaine’s wife Janice told Irish broadcaster RTÉ that he “loved his home, he loved his farm, he loved animals” adding that his disappearance was “totally out of character”.

Independent TD (member of the Irish parliament) for Kerry, Michael Healy-Rae, said the local community in Kenmare wants answers.

“We want to know, and the family want to know,” he told Irish national broadcaster RTÉ.

“Mike was a very respectable, hardworking, genuine man, a great community person and a person that everybody liked.

“To think that somebody would have this type of event happen to them, we’re all horrified. We’re upset.

“It is not something that we’re used to in any part of Ireland. But in this locality, we never had a situation like this before.”