Inquest verdict of spontaneous human combustion sparks debate

THE demise of pensioner Michael Faherty, who died at his house in Galway just before last Christmas, was unique in Irish history.

An inquest on Thursday ruled that the 76-year-old burned to death as a result of spontaneous human combustion, where a live person catches fire without any external source of fire.

A fire in the grate in his sitting room where the badly burnt body was found was discounted by forensic experts as the cause of the blaze.