An elderly man and his daughter died in a house fire in Tuam, Co Galway, early yesterday. Gardaí are investigating the cause of the fire.
The victims have been named locally as Larry Kavanagh (79) and his daughter Rose Condon (49), a mother of three children. Mayor of Tuam Cllr Tom Reilly has extended the town's sympathies to bereaved family members who live close by on Gilmartin Road.
Neighbour Ned Ward, who lives opposite Mr Kavanagh, raised the alarm shortly after 2am yesterday when he opened the door of his house and noticed smoke coming out of the semi-detached two-storey dwelling. "There were no lights on, so I knew there was something wrong," Mr Ward, still in shock, said.
"A Garda squad car was just driving down the road at the time and I flagged it down and the gardaí called the fire brigade, which was here in less than five minutes," Mr Ward said. He wrapped a towel around his head and made two attempts to enter the premises, as did the gardaí.
"The furthest I got was three-quarters of the way up the stairs, but the smoke was too much," Mr Ward said.
Initial reports suggest the fire broke out downstairs, where Mr Kavanagh was sleeping. Mrs Condon was upstairs, and was still alive when the fire brigade staff reached her. She was taken by ambulance to University College Hospital Galway (UCHG), but did not survive.
Mr Kavanagh, originally from Wexford, was retired and was well known in Tuam. "He did everything, driving, delivering coal, and worked as a butcher's assistant," one of his neighbours said. His daughter, Rose, who had lived just three doors away from her father, is survived by her grown-up children James, Sharon and Kevin and their father Michael.
Several members of Mrs Condon's family stood in stunned silence yesterday as the house was cordoned off by gardaí. Shortly after 11am, Mr Kavanagh's body was removed from the premises and taken to UCHG.
Mr Reilly said the tragedy brought back memories of a fire that broke out just a few hundred yards away in Barrack Street, Tuam, some 25 years ago next month. Margaret Ward and her four young children died when a fire destroyed their house.
"I know the family and extended family and we are all shocked and devastated to hear this news. It is a sad day for Tuam," Mr Reilly said.
Garda Insp Paul Glynn of Tuam described how the gardaí in the patrol car broke down the door and got halfway up the stairs before being driven back by smoke.
Gardaí believe that no foul play was involved. Postmortems were carried out on the bodies of Mr Kavanagh and Mrs Condon at UCHG.
The Archbishop of Tuam, Dr Michael Neary, visited the bereaved families yesterday.