The son of Maurice Ahern, the former taoiseach's brother, was found dead in his Dublin apartment yesterday morning.

The body of 37-year-old Dylan Ahern was found at his apartment in Santry at around 11.30am on Saturday.

Gardaí do not suspect that foul play was involved and are treating the incident as a tragedy.

Dylan Ahern was a keen runner and a popular member of the Clonliffe Harriers club. As a mark of respect Clonliffe Harriers Grand Prix presentation dinner was cancelled last night and its annual general meeting, which was due to take place this Tuesday, has been deferred. Dylan, who was single, was a well-known face around the Dublin Central constituency and had canvassed for his father Maurice and uncle Bertie.

The extended Ahern family are said to be devastated by the death and sources say they want their privacy to be respected. A message placed on the Clonliffe Harriers website read: "It is with profound shock that we learnt of the tragic loss of a member of the Clonliffe family: Dylan Ahern who died suddenly this morning. Our prayers and thoughts are with Maurice and his family at this very sad time."