Mother and son die in fatal fire

Blaze occurred in early hours of Sunday morning.

Two people have died following a fatal fire at a house in the Ballyjamesduff area last night.

A mother, aged in her 80s, and her son, aged in his 50s, are understood to have perished in the blaze, which happened at around 2am on Sunday, September 10.

Emergency services from Ballyjamesduff attended the scene at Lackenmore, in a rural area between Ballyjamesduff town and New Inns.

Gardaí are still at the scene this morning, and a full investigation is pending. The scene is currently being preserved for a technical examination

The bodies of both deceased have been taken to the mortuary at Cavan General Hospital, where a post-mortem is due to take place.

A spokesperson for An Garda Siochana confirmed to the Celt: "Gardaí were alerted to a fire at a domestic residence in Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan shortly before 2.00am on Sunday morning, 10th September 2023.

"Fire Services attended the scene and extinguished the fire.

"A woman (aged in her 80s) and a man (aged in his 50s) were pronounced deceased at the scene. The bodies of the deceased have been taken to the mortuary at Cavan General Hospital where a post-mortem will take place in due course."

They added: "The scene of the fire is currently preserved for a technical examination by the Garda Technical Bureau. The Coroner has been notified. Enquiries are ongoing."

Fine Gael councillor Trevor Smith described what happened as a "terrible tragedy", and said that the "thoughts and prayers of the whole community are with the family, their relatives and friends at this difficult time".