Gardaí were on Tuesday night continuing to question a man in his 50s about the murder of Co Kerry sheep farmer Michael Gaine, who disappeared from his farm near Kenmare just under a year ago.
Detectives arrested the man in the Chapel Street area of Tralee shortly after 7.30am on Tuesday morning, and brought him to Castleisland Garda station for questioning about Gaine’s murder.
Officers from the Kerry division of the Serious Crime Unit made the arrest, supported by officers from the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and members of the Armed Support Unit.
It is understood that the arrest follows the discovery of what Garda sources have said was new circumstantial evidence, which they believe links the suspect to Gaine’s murder.
Last month, senior local officers in Kerry held a case conference in Killarney, along with colleagues from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, to review the evidence in the case.
Senior detectives then met a leading senior counsel specialising in criminal law to obtain advice on the case that they planned to present to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
It is understood the senior detectives had a meeting with a solicitor in the DPP’s office earlier this month to further discuss the investigation and whether they should make an arrest.
A senior officer then made an application before Judge David Waters at a special sitting of Killarney District Court on Monday to obtain a warrant to arrest the suspect in Tralee.
The man arrested on Tuesday is detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984, which allows gardaí hold suspects for up to 24 hours before they must be charged or released.
That can be extended if a suspect exercises their right to suspend their period of questioning and rest overnight.
Gaine (56), from Sheep’s Rest, Carhoomeengar East, Kenmare, was last seen alive at 9.48am on Thursday March 20th, 2025, when he called to buy phone credit at Whyte’s Centra in Kenmare.
He was reported missing by his brother-in-law Sean O’Regan the next day and a large search operation was conducted at his farm at Carrig East, some 8km from Kenmare town.
No trace was found of the missing sheep farmer and, on April 29th, gardaí upgraded their inquiry from that of a missing person to a murder investigation.
Just over a fortnight later, on May 16th, a relative of Gaine’s found human tissue while spreading slurry. A search of a slurry tank on the farm uncovered dismembered body parts.
The following day, State Pathologist Dr Sally Anne Collis and forensic anthropologist Dr Laureen Buckley carried out a preliminary examination of the scene.
A search of a slurry tank on the farm by members of the Garda Water Unit, assisted by Garda technical experts, found further human remains which were later confirmed as those of Gaine.
Gardaí believe Gaine’s killer had dismembered his body using a reciprocating saw and disposed of the body parts in the slurry tank, which had previously been searched for a full body.
Tuesday morning’s arrest is the second that gardaí have made in the case.