The Westport/Dublin railway line reopened at Ballyhaunis yesterday evening following its closure to deal with an incident near the track.

Gardai confirmed that the body of a man was found on land near the line yesterday afternoon.

The man's remains were removed to Mayo University Hospital where a post-mortem is awaited to determine the cause of death.

The discovery was made shortly after 12 noon when an Irish Rail employee who was walking the rail line discovered a man's body on land near the rail track at Skehard about 2  miles from Ballyhaunis.

Gardai attended the scene and an investigation got underway.

Midwest News understands that that the deceased is a retired priest in his early 70's who lived locally and regularly walked the land along the railway line.

While officially the cause of death remains unexplained pending a post-mortem examination, it's understood he died from natural causes.