By Olivia Kelleher,Sam Truelove

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Two pensioners who were found dead by their daughter-in-law at their family home left a chilling eight-word note and stuck it on the front door, an inquest has heard. Tony and Phyllis Gilbert, both aged 83, signed their wills just four days before they died by suicide at their home in Kenmare, Co Kerry in November 2021, Tralee District Court heard. Mrs Gilbert had been suffering with stage four pancreatic cancer and both died after ingesting a poisonous substance, a post-mortem found. The elderly couple were found dead by daughter-in-law Beryl Gilbert at their bungalow in Dromneavane in Kenmare, Co Kerry shortly after 10am on November 14, 2021. Giving evidence during the inquest, Beryl explained she came across a note pinned to the front door as she went to leave food shopping outside, Irish Mirror reports. The note on A4 paper read: “All going to plan we should be dead.” The note writer asked for the gardai to be called, it was heard, with instructions left explaining there was a front door key in a flower pot. On entry at around 10:20am police officers found the bodies of Mr and Mrs Gilbert in separate beds in a bedroom. There was no sign of injury or trauma on either of the bodies, Coroner for Kerry Aisling Quilter was told. The court heard that gardai spotted a tape recorder which had two recordings of the couples’ voices. A note directed officers to listen to the recordings and Mr Gilbert said he and his wife had been “together in life” and planned to be “together in sleep.” Granddaughter Felicity Gilbert said the couple were “as close as you can be companionship wise”. She said the pair had become “quite reclusive” and were keeping their distance from society because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The inquest heard Mr Gilbert had contacted solicitor Vincent Coakley in October 2021 by phone to ask about the writing of a will for himself and his wife. Mr Gilbert is said to have told Mr Coakley that they were “anxious to make a will because of good health”. After giving details of their wishes over the phone, Mr and Mrs Gilbert attended the solicitor’s office on November 10 and signed their wills, it was heard. Mr Coakley indicated that whilst Mrs Gilbert was “very infirm” both she and her husband had the mental competence to write their own wills, with three witnesses present. Post-mortems were carried out by Chief State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan at University Hospital in Kerry and it was determined the couple had ingested a poisonous substance which had led to their deaths. Toxicology results confirmed the pair had died having taken a poisonous substance. Mr and Mrs Gilbert, who had moved to Kerry from the UK in the 1990’s and previously ran a successful glass engraving business on Henry Street in Kenmare, would have died fairly quickly, Dr Mulligan told the inquest. She noted Mrs Gilbert had stage four pancreatic cancer when she died, with the cancer having metastasised through her body. Coroner Quilter returned a verdict of suicide and told the court it was clear the married couple had made plans prior to their deaths. She said that it was “a traumatic” case. For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org , visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.