Relatives and friends were comforting the families of two men who died in a house fire in Macroom in Co Cork on Monday morning which also left a woman in a serious condition in hospital.
The men, named locally as Kenny Relihan (26) from St Colman’s Park and Noel O’Mahony who was in his early 60s from Cackanode, Clondrohid, died in the fire at the house in St Colman’s Park
The fire broke out in the two storey house at St Colman’s Park off Cork Street in the town just before 4am this morning and was spotted by a local man, Ryan Manning, who raised the alarm.
Mr Manning, who is in his early 20s, and another local man, Timbo Coleman (21), managed to break down the front door of the terraced house but were forced back by thick black smoke.
Just as they were retreating, Mr Relihan’s mother, Noreen McAuliffe who is in her late 50s, jumped from an upstairs window and was brought by neighbours to Mr Coleman’s house across the road.
She was later taken by ambulance to Cork University Hospital where she was sedated and treated for smoke inhalation and she remains in a serious condition in the hospital’s intensive care unit.
According to eye witnesses, Mr O’Mahony, who was visiting the house, also appeared at the upstairs window but then stood back and disappeared in the thick smoke which had engulfed the house.
According to the Emergency Fire Service, a call was received at 3.55am and the local Macroom Fire Brigade was mobilised at 4.01am and arrived at the scene of the fire in St Colman’s Park at 4.03am.
They were later joined by a unit of Ballincollig Fire Brigade which arrived at 4.22am and they quickly brought the blaze under control and firefighters, using breathing apparatus, entered the house.
Firefighters recovered Mr Relihan’ s body downstairs in the hallway and they found Mr O’Mahony’s body upstairs in a bedroom. Both were pronounced dead at the scene by a local doctor.
Both bodies were removed to the morgue at Cork University Hospital where they were formally identified before Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster who then began postmortem examinations.
Mr Relihan is survived by his mother and his father Barthy Relihan while Mr O’Mahony is survived by his wife, Sheila, and adult daughters Noreen, Paula and Joanne.
Garda technical experts began a forensic examination of the house once it was declared safe and initial indications are that the fire started accidentally in the kitchen area at the rear of the house.
One line of inquiry that gardaí are focusing on is that the fire may have started in a chip pan which caught fire in the kitchen and spread throughout the remainder of the terraced house.
Gardaí under Supt Mick Fitzpatrick began door to door inquiries to try and establish when the two deceased were last seen alive and they have established Mr Relihan left a local nightclub at 2.30am.
However they have appealed to anyone who may have any information that can assist them in their inquiries to contact them in confidence at Macroom Garda Station on 026-20590.
Meanwhile Mr Coleman, who was treated at Cork University Hospital for a cut to his shoulder sustained while he was breaking down the front door, was recovering at home on Monday afternoon.
His close friends, Ciaran O’Sullivan and Owen Sadqi, paid tribute to him for his bravery in trying to rescue the two men who they remembered with fondness and affection.
Mr Sadqi said: “Kenny was a lovely lad – he was a great personality, very outgoing and great craic, he was always the life and soul of the party – it’s just terribly sad for everyone.”
And Mr O’Sullivan recalled Mr O’Mahony: “I’m good friends with his granddaughter - he was sound out – he had a snooker hall here one time and he would have kept a lot of lads out of trouble.”
Mayor of County Cork Cllr John Paul O’Shea extended his sympathies to the families of both men calling describing the incident as “a shocking loss and terrible tragedy”.
“It’s an awful tragedy to wake up to on a Bank Holiday morning. Two deaths in a town like Macroom - my sympathies go out to all the families and to the people of Macroom – it’s desperately sad.”
.
