A man has died after a blaze broke out at his home in Cork in the early hours of Christmas morning.
An electrical fault arising out of an overloaded socket is thought to have caused the fire which claimed the life of Terence Porter (29), Springfield Estate, Kerry Road, Mayfield.
Emergency services arrived shortly after the alarm was raised at 6am but Mr Porter was pronounced dead shortly after.
A neighbour had previously attempted to gain access to the house, but he was trapped in the sitting room by the blaze. A man who attempted to come to Mr Porter's assistance was later treated in hospital for an eye injury caused by broken glass.
The parish priest at the church of Our Lady Crowned, Mayfield, Fr Robert Young, said yesterday that the man's death was an awful tragedy at any time of the year, but particularly at Christmas.
A postmortem was due to be carried out yesterday morning at Cork University Hospital. Garda and fire services investigations are also under way into the cause of the blaze. It is understood it started upstairs and may have been caused by an overloaded socket.
Mr Porter, who lived with his father, was the only person in the house at the time.