TRIBUTES HAVE BEEN paid to Irish Rail employee and “pure gentleman” Ian Walsh who was found dead in Carrick-on-Suir in south Tipperary in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The body of Mr Walsh (49) was discovered by relatives at his home in Ravenswood in Cregg Road at 3:30am.

Family members raised the alarm and gardai and the emergency services attended at the scene. Mr Walsh was formally pronounced dead by a local GP. He had a number of injuries to his body. It is understood that he had not been seen for a few days.

A postmortem examination which will be carried out today at University Hospital in Waterford’s will determine the course of the garda investigation. The death is being treated as suspicious in nature.

Mr Walsh was well known and liked by his colleagues in Irish Rail and by railway enthusiasts around the country.

Táilte Tours team said that they felt extreme sadness at the passing of Ian Walsh, “signaller at Cork station and a huge supporter” of their railtour operation.

“Ian ran five railtours of his own over the course of the mid to late 2000s, and was very much a pioneer in ‘outside the box’ tours in Ireland, starting them from locations such as Waterford and Limerick, in an era when tours were generally based in Dublin or Belfast.

“He was more than happy to pass his experience and expertise on when we started operations a few years ago; for those of you who enjoyed the ‘surprise’ rare track moves on our Cork-based railtours, you can thank Ian, who went far beyond the extra mile to ensure our operations went off without a hitch.

“He had a wonderful knowledge of the Iarnród Éireann system and its people, and had also developed a passion for Bus Éireann operations, diligently recording the last runs on several rural routes in the south east as they disappeared, quickly becoming a friend to bus drivers in the Cork and Waterford areas.”

Táilte Tours offered their condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.

Iarnród Éireann has also expressed shock at the passing of their “well known and popular colleague”.

“All us in Iarnród Éireann are shocked and saddened at Ian’s passing. Ian was a well known and popular colleague across the company, both in his working life in roles from catering to signalling, and for his passion for railway and transport tourism and heritage.

“Our thoughts are with his family, and his friends in the railway and beyond, at this difficult time.”

Mr Walsh, who was also a licensed bus driver, was known for his passion for railway and transport tourism and heritage. He was known as “Squinty” to his many friends.

Meanwhile, gardaí are attempting to establish the last known movements of Mr Walsh. Door to door inquiries will be carried out in the estate where he lived.

Gardaí will also check CCTV security camera footage from houses in the area to determine any movements to and from the property.

Gardaí are appealing for anyone with information related to this incident to come forward, including any road users who were in the area of Cregg Road between 8pm on Friday and 3:30am on Monday.

Additionally, anyone who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) and was traveling in the area at the time is asked to make it available to Gardaí.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Clonmel Garda Station on (052) 617 7640, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.