GARDAÍ INVESTIGATING a house fire where the bodies of a mother and her two daughters were found on Christmas morning want to talk to the driver of a "wine/maroon-coloured" car seen in the area at the time of the blaze.
Detectives are continuing to examine the scene of the fire where the bodies of Sharon Whelan (30) and her daughters Zsara (7) and Nadia (2) were found in their beds 13 days ago.
Investigators have interviewed more than 250 people and have taken fingerprint samples from a number of people who had contact with the Whelan family at about the time of the fire at Roscon near Windgap, Co Kilkenny.
Insp Liam Connolly of Kilkenny Garda station said gardaí were making "good progress in trying to establish the cause of the fire and the deaths".
Gardaí are understood to be examining the possibility that Ms Whelan may have died before the fire took hold shortly after 8am on Christmas morning.
Insp Connolly said a wine/maroon-coloured car was seen in Roscon at about 8am on Christmas morning.
Gardaí have renewed their appeal to anyone in the Roscon, Windgap or Callan areas between 11pm on Christmas Eve and 10am on Christmas morning to contact them.