The Spellman family's Opel car was parked at an angle in their yard. "It was parked like that to help herd the cattle into the field there," said one man at the scene of the gutted farmhouse.
Tall trees surround the twostorey house, which is situated close to Rathcroghan. A fireman at the scene commented on how the occupants of the house had little chance once the fire had taken hold. "There was old timber on the ceilings and it was tinder dry," he said. Only one downstairs room survived the fire but its ceiling was singed black.
It was a simple existence for the elderly couple who had handed over the running of their dairy farm to their eldest son.
Sean Spellman (48) had gone to university in Galway to study science and thought about becoming a teacher but instead remained on in the family home.
John Joe (83), had been known for miles around as "a true judge" of cattle and was an expert on the Aberdeen Angus. After a fall some time ago he was no longer as active around the farm and he and Kathleen (81) looked forward to nightly bingo sessions in the surrounding villages.
The local parish priest, Father Austin McKeon, who administered the last rites, admitted he felt overcome as he drove home. "It was probably because I knew Sean very well and had taught him in the boarding school in Summerhill in Sligo. He was very bright and did well in his exams."
Enda, the son who survived the fire and is currently receiving medical attention in Roscommon County Hospital, had in recent years published a book of poetry and sold it in local shops. . It is understood he has not worked for some years due to illness.