GARDAÍ HAVE LAUNCHED a murder investigation into the death of Ian Walsh, who was found dead at his home in Co Tipperary earlier this week.

Mr Walsh, aged 49, was discovered unresponsive by family members at his home in the Ravenswood estate on Cregg Road, Carrick-on-Suir, in the early hours of Monday morning.

Emergency services were called to the scene around 2am and he was pronounced dead a short time later.

He had sustained a number of visible injuries, and a postmortem was carried out on Wednesday.

While the preliminary findings have been shared with investigators, gardaí say the cause of death is not being released for operational reasons.

Following the postmortem, Gardaí in Clonmel confirmed that the case is now being treated as murder.

They are continuing to investigate all the circumstances surrounding Mr Walsh’s death and are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

In particular, they are asking for anyone who saw anything unusual or who may have dashcam footage in the Cregg Road area between 8pm on Friday 1 August and 3.30am on Monday 4 August to contact them.

Iarnród Éireann paid tribute to Mr Walsh, describing him as a “well-known and popular colleague across the company” with a deep passion for railway heritage and transport tourism.

“All of us in Iarnród Éireann are shocked and saddened at Ian’s passing,” the company said.

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

Rail heritage group Táilte Tours also issued a heartfelt tribute, calling Mr Walsh a pioneer of unique rail tours and a generous source of knowledge and support.

“He had a wonderful knowledge of the Iarnród Éireann system and its people,” the group said, noting his dedication to preserving not just rail but also rural bus routes.

“He went far beyond the extra mile to ensure our operations went off without a hitch.”