A US-based Cavan engineer who drowned his two young daughters before killing himself had been depressed over his marriage breakdown, friends said yesterday.
Police believe Thomas Reilly (46), originally from Ballyjamesduff, killed his two children Megan (6) and Kelly (5) at his rented home in Montclair, New Jersey, and then took his own life.
The alarm was raised at 7pm local time on Thursday when his Scottish-born wife, Theresa, from whom he had separated, alerted police.
She informed them she had been unable to contact Mr Reilly after leaving their daughters with him earlier in the day, said deputy police chief Roger Terry.
Police entered the house and found the bodies of the two young girls in the bathroom of the house, and that of Mr Reilly in the attic.
A friend of Mr Reilly, Roscommon-born barman John Dooley, described him as very outgoing and positive but said he had been showing signs of depression in recent weeks.
"But then I met him on Sunday night on the streets for just a minute. I said my brother was coming in from Ireland and Thomas said he was looking forward to seeing him. He seemed fine."
Another friend, Mousey D'Aries, said Mr Reilly had been hoping to reconcile with his wife about two months ago and seemed confident they could work out their differences.
Mr Reilly, the former owner of the Irish Cottage bar in West Orange, New Jersey, was a well-known figure in New Jersey's Irish community, known for organising charity events to raise money for New Jersey hurling teams.
Both Mr Dooley and Mr D'Aries described him as a very loving father who never showed signs of serious mental illness.
Yesterday, police had sealed off the three-storey Victorian house in Montclair, New Jersey, where the bodies were found.
Mr Reilly had been renting a third-floor apartment in the house after moving out of the family home in Verona, New Jersey. His two children had been visiting him after attending a local children's birthday party.
Ms Reilly was released from hospital yesterday after being treated for shock and is believed to be with her mother, who lives locally.
Mr Reilly's brother Pat and his sister Mary live in towns close by and were last night being comforted by friends and relatives.
Friends said that Mr Reilly was busy working as a building engineer since selling the Irish Cottage bar about three years ago and had recently been working in Hackensack, across the Hudson river from New York city. He was also an active member of the Local 68 engineers union.
In the Irish community, Mr Reilly was known for organising a procession of players wearing GAA jerseys from every Irish county in the West Orange St Patrick's Day parade. He was also a keen darts player and an organiser of the Essex Country darts league.
Mr D'Aries, who sponsored Mr Reilly's darts team, described him as one of the greatest people he had met.
"People are just beside themselves over here. He was a hard-working, good guy, there was never a hint of anything wrong," he said.
Ms D'Aries said Mr Reilly had been upset by his marital problems but had seemed optimistic at the last match of the darts season some weeks ago. "He told us that he and his wife were working hard on putting things back together.
"He loved his kids and he was always talking about them and was happy to be working things out," Mr D'Aries said.
He said he had known Mr Reilly since the latter emigrated from Ireland in the 1980s along with a group of Cavan men.
"They were all such hard-working guys, really the kind of guys who believed in the American dream," Mr D'Aries added.
Ciarán Phillips, originally from Mayo and now working in Lazy Lanigan's bar in Hackensack, remembered Mr Reilly organising card drives to raise money for New Jersey hurling teams.
"He was as normal as any man you could meet. He was known as being very genuine and many Irish people hung out at his bar. It was a great place to be and he was a great person to know."
Mr Reilly was well known in the Ballyjamesduff area and was a frequent visitor to his home town.