Deep shock at death of Screggan man in house fire

A deep sense of shock and sadness was cast over the townsland of Screggan, outside Mucklagh, this week when news emerged that local man, Pat Donovan, had lost his life in a horrific fire at his home on the Ross Road yesterday morning (Tuesday).

Mr Donovan, who was in his 60s, and was a familiar figure in the local area, was pronounced dead at the scene of the fire, which is believed to have broken out in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Two units of Tullamore fire service and a jeep, along with members of An Garda Siochána from Tullamore Station, attended the scene of the fire after being alerted at approximately 7.38am on Tuesday, but by the time the emergency services arrived at the scene, the fire was almost out. The body of Mr Donovan was found at the scene, and no other person was injured in the blaze.

The office of the State Pathologist was notified, and Mr Donovan's remains were removed to the Midlands Regional Hospital, where a post-mortem was carried out on Wednesday. According to a statement from the Garda Press Office, the results of the post-mortem were not being released “for operational reasons.”

The Garda Technical Bureau conducted a technical examination at the scene of the fatal fire, but it is understood that it is not being treated as suspicious at this time.

At the time of going to press, funeral details for Mr Donovan had not been released.