A MAN who brought his uncle's body to a post office to collect his pension has claimed he didn’t realise he was dead.

Peadar Doyle, 66, died on Friday — not long before he was propped up by his nephew Declan Haughney and another man at the counter of Hosey’s shop in Carlow, Ireland.

Declan, 40, insists that the duo did not realise Mr Doyle had died during the five-minute walk to collect his pension.

He now says he has been wrongly and disgustingly branded a “murderer” in his local community – but he maintains his innocence and says he’s “not an eejit”.

Declan currently has a black eye and facial injuries after allegedly being attacked following the incident last Friday.

He told The Irish Mirror: "Why would I want to rob my uncle? I’m 40 years of age yeah, I’m not a child. I’m not a young fella. 

“I’m not an eejit to walk into Hoseys with a dead man and collect his money. 

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“Am I cuckoo? Am I cuckoo? I’m not.”

Declan, who used to have a drug problem, said he's being wrongly accused of knowingly bringing his dead uncle in to get his pension because of his past.

He previously stole from his aunt 15 years ago and served two years in prison.

Declan explained: “That’s why they’re saying it, that’s why this is all coming up now – because I done it before. 

“A bank card came through the aunt’s door and I got the pin code and went down for fraud and that’s why this is all coming up.

“People know about that in the town you know. But that was 15 years ago. I’m off the gear three years and I’m doing well.”

Looking back, he believes his uncle was dead before he even reached the post office.

He and another male got Peadar under the bridge at Pollerton Road, which is less than a two-minute walk from his home and brought him to the post office by linking arms with him and dragging him there.

He said: “So we linked him from here to there. He was walking like normal and then I reckon he died.

“This is no word of a lie, he started dragging his heels from you see the yellow sign that’s there? 

“But we didn’t even think of it as anything. We were grand like then all of a sudden he started going all slumpy.

“We thought nothing of it because Peadar had had heart attacks and all.”

Once they got into the post office, Declan claims his uncle just “dropped” to the ground and he then realised he was dead.

He said: “We got in as far as the queue. We were holding him and when we got to the queue we let him go and he just dropped. He just dropped there and then.

“Why would I try to rob my uncle’s money when I’m living in the house with him and we’re sharing the bills?”

Declan has given a voluntary statement to gardai and has not been arrested. 

Gardai have already confirmed that Mr Doyle died from natural causes and no foul play is suspected.

He added: “He’s my uncle. The man who reared me. I’m shellshocked. My heart is torn in two.”

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