A couple in their 70s may have been dead for up to a year before being discovered yesterday afternoon in Co Tipperary.
Their bodies were found at a house in Cloneen, between Fethard and Mullinahone - but no foul play is suspected.
The alarm was raised by local residents, who hadn't seen the couple for a long time.
The offices of the State Pathologist have been notified, and post mortem examinations are set to take place today (Tuesday).
Southern Correspondent with the Irish Independent, Ralph Riegel, says it's been several weeks since the couple are believed to have passed away.
"What the Gardaí are saying is that a considerable period of time - I'm told that that's at least several weeks - it could be potentially be more than that. One of the major things that the Gardaí are trying to do is to determine when this couple were last seen. Local Gardai are basically asking people with information to contact them. They're also contacting locals and neighbours in the area to try and pin down when was the last time that this couple were actually seen."
The bodies are yet to have been formally identified and a post mortem examination will determine the course of the investigation.
"Gardaí are saying at the moment they're keeping an open mind on the matter. The nature of their investigation will be determined by the findings of the post mortem. The bodies have not been formally identified, it's possible that dental records may be required to do that. We're also told that the post mortem will be quite lengthy because of the apparent period of time that has gone on between the time of the death and the discovery of the bodies".
