The body of an 85-year-old man which was discovered at his home in Cork on Friday may have been undiscovered for seven months.

Ritchie Scanlan's body was discovered at his home in Madden's Buildings in Blackpool on the northside of Cork city at midday on Friday.

A neighbour called to the property and contacted gardaí after making the grim discovery.

Gardaí are not treating the incident as suspicious.

It is believed Mr Scanlan died of natural causes.

A post-mortem examination was conducted on the remains at Cork University Hospital (CUH) and a file will now be prepared for the coroner.

Mr Scanlan's funeral will take place tomorrow at 11am.

He is survived by his sister Joan, sister-in-law Pauline and extended family and friends.

The Lord Mayor of Cork, Blackpool-based councillor John Sheehan passed on his sympathies to Mr Scanlan's family.

He described Mr Scanlan as "an absolute gentleman" and said that the community in Blackpool is shocked.

It is the second such incident to happen in Cork this year.

In May, the body of George Harrington was found in his apartment in the Glen, also on the northside of Cork city.

At the time, gardaí said it was likely that his body had been there for "a number of months".

A Garda source said that these incidents, unfortunately, are not unusual and happen "several times per year".

John O'Mahony, national development manager at Age Action Cork, called on communities to keep an eye on elderly and vulnerable people.

"We are very concerned to hear about this tragic incident. Sadly, it is not an isolated one either.

"It is sad and unacceptable that this type of thing can happen.

"More needs to be done to consolidate the services available to people and to make sure that nobody falls through the cracks," he said.