Families prepare for funerals as victims of Carrickmines fire identified

The bodies of the people who died in the fire at a halting site in Carrickmines last Saturday morning have been formally identified.

The remains have been released to their families tonight and it is understood funeral arrangements are now being made in Counties Wicklow and Wexford.

The people who died were Thomas, aged 27, and Silvia Connors, aged 25, and their three children; Jim aged five, Christy aged two and Mary who was just five months old.

Willie Lynch, aged 25, and his partner Tara Gilbert, aged 27, and their children Kelsey aged four and Jodie aged nine also died in the fire.

Tara was four months pregnant at the time.

Jimmy Lynch, the brother of Willie, aged 39, was the 10th casualty of the Carrickmines fire.

The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) has opened a bank account for donations for the families affected by the fire.

The account is now open at AIB 10 Main Street, Dundrum, Co. Dublin. The account details are as follows:

Account number: 16005289

NSC: 93-31-20

BIC: AIBKIE2D

IBAN: IE38AIBK93312016005289

Cheques made payable to 'SVP Carrickmines Tragedy' can be sent to Finance Dept, SVP East Region, 91-92 Sean McDermott Street, Dublin 1.

“There’s going to be 10 funerals,” local Sinn Féin Councillor Chris Curran said recently.

“That’s going to be very expensive. The State can only … will only help to a certain extent, but I know that the public want to help out here too.”

The Connors family lived on the Carrickmines site, while the Lynch family and Tara Gilbert lived in Fassaroe in Bray.

Meanwhile, talks between the residents of Rockville Drive and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council are continuing with officials saying they are actively trying to address the concerns causing the impasse which is blocking survivors from accessing temporary accommodation.