THE FAMILY of an Irishman who died at a hotel in Earley last week have said he died of natural causes.

Declan Walsh was found dead at the Elmhurst Hotel in Church Road last Wednesday, sparking a murder investigation by Thames Valley Police.

Two men from Reading were arrested shortly after the incident but the case was downgraded to an unexplained death on Friday and the men were released without charge.

Mr Walsh had been living in Reading since he emigrated from his hometown of Ballyconnell, Ireland, ten years ago.

A statement was released on behalf of Mr Walsh's family last week, confirming the 41-year-old died from an historic heart condition.

The statement read: "Declan collapsed and died last Wednesday morning from an historic heart condition. He had been living in Reading for ten years since emigrating from his native Ballyconnell, Co. Cavan.

"According to initial reports, Declan's death was being investigated as suspicious and involved the Serious Crimes Unit of the Thames Valley Police. Two men were arrested, questioned and later released without charge. Following a postmortem the family are now reassured that Declan died from natural causes.

“The Walsh family are recovering from the recent death of Declan's father, retired Garda Joe Walsh and are once again devastated at this tragic loss of their son, brother and dad.

“The family wish to thank the local Gardai, the Department of Foreign Affairs in both Dublin and London, The Thames Valley Police and especially the support from the Ballyconnell community,"

Detective chief inspector Kevin Brown of TVP’s Major Crime Unit, said: “As a result of the post mortem and the enquiries to date we are no longer treating this as a murder investigation, unless any new evidence comes to light.

"However, we will continue to conduct a thorough unexplained death investigation on behalf of the coroner, to determine how Declan Walsh died.

"Our sincere condolences and thoughts are with Mr Walsh’s friends and family at this extremely difficult time."