Tributes have been paid to a widower and his son who died when a fire broke out in a house near Thurles, Co Tipperary, in the early hours of Monday.
The pair, named locally as retired Eircom employee Stephen Lee (80s) and his son John (50s), died when the blaze erupted in the former’s home on McDonagh Terrace, Littleton.
The alarm was raised by neighbours at about 2.30am and units from Tipperary County Fire Service in Thurles attended the scene. Firefighters brought the blaze at the two-storey house under control and recovered the two men, but they were pronounced dead at the scene. Their bodies were later removed and will undergo postmortems in due course.
Gardaí on Monday said the scene was being preserved for technical examination and investigations are ongoing. However, it is understood that foul play is not suspected.
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Local Fianna Fáil Cllr Seán Ryan said the community in Littleton was in shock as the Lees were a well-known family. He said Stephen Lee’s late wife, Mary, had been very active in the local community, but he was a bit quieter.
“A very unassuming man but very well regarded and popular. Everyone is in a state of shock here today,” he said.
Mr Ryan said that following Mrs Lee’s death last year, Mr Lee’s adult children had been coming to stay with him overnight and this week it was John’s turn.
“John lived in Emly in west Tipp but he would come over and take his turn to stay with his father along with his brother, Christopher and sister, Karen, who both live locally,” he said.
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