Garda incident room established in Portlaoise following death at luxury Ballyfin Demesne hotel in Laois

An incident room has been set up in Portlaoise as gardaí continue to investigate the “extremely tragic” death of a man at an exclusive hotel in Laois.

The man in his 60s was pronounced dead at Ballyfin Demesne shortly after 8pm on Tuesday evening. He died following an assault near a leisure area in the hotel.  

A man in his 30s, who is understood to be known to the victim, has been arrested. He was detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 at a garda station before being taken to hospital but he has now returned to the garda station. 

It’s understood both men were American and were staying as guests at the hotel. It’s believed they had arrived in the country a short time before the incident occurred.  The matter was described by one source as “extremely tragic”. 

Gardaí said a Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) has been appointed to lead the investigation and an incident room has been established at Portlaoise Garda Station.

A hearse arrived at the guest entrance of the hotel at around 10.15am this morning. A marked garda patrol car was also seen exiting the grounds of the hotel this morning. 

Pictured above: A hearse arriving at Ballyfin Demesne this morning

Gardai say a Family Liaison Officer(FLO) has been appointed to support the family of the deceased. 

The man who is in custody is being held Under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.  Under the Act, he can be detained and questioned for a maximum of 24 hours before being either released or charged. However, detention may go over the 24 hours if questioning is suspended for rest periods or if the detainee is in need of medical attention.  

The multi award winning five star Ballyfin Demesne Hotel is one of the leading hotels in Europe. It attracted global media attention when Kim Kardashian and Kanye West stayed there during their honeymoon in 2014.