No foul play in family’s blaze deaths

Prayers were said at Masses throughout Co Leitrim yesterday for a keen gardener, his wife and daughter who died when fire tore through their two-storey home at Lisnabrack, near Manorhamilton.

The blaze on Saturday claimed the lives of Dessie McDonald, 75, his wife Patsy, 77, and their daughter Patricia, 34. The fire was believed to have started in the kitchen while all three were asleep in bed.

The alarm was raised by a passing taxi driver after 2am and the house was well ablaze when the fire services arrived.