Garda forensic experts began an examination of the scene of a house fire in Castlebar, Co Mayo, yesterday following the deaths of a father and his daughter in the blaze. Tom Shiel reports.
The fire broke out in their rented home shortly before midnight on Saturday.
Anthony Magnone (35) had entered the premises in an attempt to save six-year-old Toiri but both of them perished in the fire which badly damaged the three-bedroom house. Minutes earlier Mr Magnone had managed to bring his other daughter, Dawn (4), to safety.
The Co Monaghan-born construction worker ignored the efforts of neighbours to stop him re-entering the building which, they said, was an inferno at the time.
Residents in Castlehill Park, a mile east of Castlebar town centre on the old Turlough Road, were devastated by what happened.
One neighbour, Mr Tom Duffy, was among those who had tried to help the family.
"The front room was a big ball of fire when we arrived. There was black smoke everywhere. The father had brought one child to safety and wanted to go back in for the other.
"We tried to stop him going back in but he wouldn't heed us."
The younger girl, Dawn, was taken to a neighbour's house before being taken to Mayo General Hospital by ambulance.
There were initial fears that the dead man's partner and mother of the children, Ms Gloria Nealon, might have been trapped in the burning building.
But a search later by firemen after the flames had been extinguished ruled this out.
Ms Nealon was informed of the tragedy later, having returned in a taxi to the estate at 2 a.m. She was taken from the scene in a distraught state.
Three units of Mayo fire brigade, two from Castlebar and one from Westport, attended the scene.
Mayo chief fire officer Mr Seamus Murphy said yesterday an investigation was under way to determine where the fire started.
The three-bedroom semi-detached house was badly burnt in the blaze, particularly the sitting room and downstairs areas.
The man's body was taken from the kitchen. The body of the child was found in an upstairs area.
Neighbours gathered at the scene as the scale of the tragedy unfolded. One former resident of the estate, fireman Mr "Blackie" Gavin, a member of the local town council, said: "The whole area is traumatised by what happened."
Many people living in Castlehill Park did not know the family well as they had only been living in the estate for about six months.
But their two daughters were well known in the estate.
One local, Mr Dave Breen, said: "They were beautiful blonde girls. Anybody on the estate couldn't but have noticed them for they always had a big wave for anybody who went by."