Hundreds attend funeral for Christmas blaze family

Hundreds of mourners today attended the funeral of a mother and her two daughters who were killed in a Christmas Day house fire.

Sharon Whelan, 30, and her daughters Zsara, seven, and Nadia, two-and-a-half, died in the blaze at their rented home on a country lane close to the small village of Windgap, Co Kilkenny.

Members of Windgap GAA club and children from the national school formed a guard of honour as Nadia’s and Zsara’s tiny white coffins led the way into local church, St Nicholas’.

In a tribute, Ms Whelan’s brother John said it was hard to make sense of what had happened.

“Sharon, Zsara, Nadia – three of the brightest lights in our family,” he said.

“These lights went out on Christmas morning and our families’ lives will never be the same.”

The three bodies were released to the family on Tuesday evening after post mortem examinations.

The family held a private prayer service at a funeral home in nearby Callan last night before removal this morning.

Among the mourners were Ms Whelan’s mother and father, Christy and Nancy, extended family members and friends.

The choir of the joint parish of Windgap/Tullahought sang during the service.

The fire broke out at around 9am on Christmas Day with neighbours breaking in to try to rescue the family.

Initially the blaze was being treated as a tragic accident but gardai confirmed all circumstances surrounding the deaths were being investigated.

There has been speculation that Ms Whelan may have died before the fire broke out.

The close-knit community of Windgap was said to be devastated by the deaths which occurred hours after the children’s grandfather left presents for them on Christmas Eve.

Reflecting Zsara’s love for gaelic games, a camogie stick was placed by her coffin at the altar as well as a teddy bear for Nadia.

The three were buried together at the adjoining cemetery after the Funeral Mass.