British home issues appeal to trace dead man’s relatives

BRITISH authorities were last night trying to trace relatives of an Irish pensioner who died at a nursing home in Leeds last week.

So little is known about Francis McGuire, 81, who died of a heart attack, that the coroner’s office in West Yorkshire has asked police to appeal for information about his family.

A coroner’s spokesman said they believed Mr McGuire might have come from Co Cork, but said little else was known about him.

“There is no mention of a place or town of birth in his records. The nursing home had no record of his relatives.

“It would appear that nobody knew anything about him,” he said.

The remains are in storage and if no one is forthcoming, the body will be buried by the local council.

Staff at Ashlands Nursing Home in Methley, which looks after residents with dementia, said Mr McGuire might have mentioned he had a brother and might have been from Cork.

“He was a very quiet gentleman. He kept himself to himself and never had any visitors. He was very easy to please, as long as he got his cigarettes and a bowl of soup,” said one care worker.

“One of the girls who works here said his accent was more southern Ireland than Northern Ireland,” she added.

The pensioner died last Saturday, a year after being moved into the home from Harry Booth House, another nursing facility in Leeds. One nurse at his previous home said he was Roman Catholic and used to talk with a priest, who had since moved on from the parish.

“He would always talk about his family living in Ireland,” she said.

West Yorkshire Police stressed there was nothing suspicious about the man’s death and appealed for anyone who could help trace any known family or friends to get in contact.

They have contacted gardaí with what little details are known about Mr McGuire in an attempt to track any next of kin or someone who knew him.

The coroner’s spokesman said his office has had a lot of dealings with Irish authorities in similar circumstances.

*Anyone who may be able to help should contact Sarah Atkin, Coroner’s Officer, on 00 44 113 241 4105.