Couple killed by carbon monoxide
Bridget and John McGrath were found dead at their remote farmhouse, 12 miles north of Kilkenny city on Tuesday afternoon.
Technical examinations are continuing to establish for certain the source of the poisonous gas. Gardaí are satisfied there was nothing suspicious about the deaths.
A public health nurse discovered the bodies, one upstairs, the other downstairs.
The couple’s dog was also found dead.
It is thought the couple had been dead for just more than 24 hours when the bodies were found.
The National Safety Council is leading a campaign to warn people of the danger of carbon monoxide (CO), which is a colourless, odourless poisonous gas.
CO poisoning is responsible for more than 40 deaths a year in Ireland, mainly following house fires. When CO is inhaled, it combines with blood and prevents the body absorbing oxygen.
RTÉ presenter Duncan Stewart is fronting the advertisement campaign. Householders are warned not to block or build around any existing air vents or flues, to properly ventilate rooms with heating appliances, which should be correctly installed and regularly serviced.
Chimneys should be regularly swept and kept clear, cookers should not be used to heat a room while older natural gas appliances and over-sink and over-bath water heaters should also not be used.
Last month, an inquest heard the mother and sister of well-known jazz singer Honor Heffernan died after they were exposed to a lethal level of carbon monoxide at their home in Stoneybatter, north Dublin.
An outmoded gas water-heater that should never been installed in the house caused the deaths of 76-year-old Bridget and 39-year-old Fiona Heffernan in October 2003, Dublin City Coroner’s Court heard.
