A Manx relative of a couple found dead at their home in Northern Ireland has paid tribute to them.

The bodies of Michael and Marjorie Cawdery were found at home in Upper Ramone Park, Portadown, following what was described by police as a brutal attack.

Mr Cawdery was the uncle of Mannvend managing director Tracey Leahy and her sister Sammy, also a director of MannVend.

Their mother, Mr Cawdery’s sister, Sally Leahy, said: ’We are all devastated by this violent and senseless attack which has ripped this gentle, loving couple from our family.’

She said Mr Cawdery had graduated as a vet from Trinity College in Dublin, later working in east Africa on research into tropical medicine.

There, he met his wife Marjorie, who was born in Ireland, they married and after starting their family, returned to Ireland.

Mr Cawdery worked for the Irish government on veterinary research.

’Mike and Marjorie loved the Isle of Man and came here for many holidays with our parents who made this their home in 1964,’ said Mrs Leahy.

’Mike had a brilliant brain and never stopped his research. In fact, at 83 he was in the middle of writing a research paper for the British Medical Journal,’ Mrs Leahy said.

She described Mrs Cawdery as a ’dedicated wife and mother and grandmother’.

’They were a devoted couple and their lives revolved around their family. Their children and grandchildren live near to them in Northern Ireland - a very close family,’ she said.

Mr and Mrs Cawdery were both 83 and had three children and three grandchildren.

Mrs Leahy added: ’Mike and I would talk on the phone almost every Sunday morning, when we would exchange views on family, news, politics - in fact all and sundry.’

A 40-year-old man was later arrested and charged with murder after being questioned by police about the killings.

Police said the couple’s car was taken and later found abandoned, and they have appealed for anyone who saw any suspicious activity to contact them.

Mrs Leahy said the family had asked for their privacy to be respected.