An elderly man died just before midnight on Saturday when his house at Midleton, Co Cork, was destroyed in what the Garda described as an accidental fire. Mr Conn Curtin (71), lived alone just outside the town. When the emergency services arrived, he was overcome by smoke and fumes.
In Kerry, the body of a man was recovered from the water near Valentia pier early yesterday. Mr Christopher O'Driscoll (28), a native of the island, had been driving at Valentia bridge when his car went out of control and through the bridge railings.
Valentia Radio said the rescue services were alerted within a short time, but because of extremely bad weather, local divers were not able to enter the water until daylight.
A broken side-view mirror was found on the bridge near the broken railings and there was a slick of oil or petrol on the surface of the water.
Local sources said the bridge was subject to extremely high cross-winds and, because of the stormy conditions, the car could have been blown off the bridge. It was also suggested that a tyre on the vehicle had been punctured before the fatal accident.
In both cases, post-mortem examinations will be carried out.