This article is from page 1 of the 2014-04-29 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 1 JPG
A NORTH Clare family has been hit by tragedy for the second time in six months, following a fatal house fire that occurred in Ballyvaughan at the weekend.
Patsy O’Loughlin died in the house fire at her home in Derrynavahagh, Ballyvaughan on Sunday evening, just months after her brother Brian McMahon was killed in a road traffic accident in San Francisco.
The mother of two, originally from Kilfenora, had been alone in her home at the time of the fire, which is being treated as accidental.
It is understood that that fire started in the kitchen of her bungalow home, while Ms O’Loughlin was in the bedroom at the time.
Her son who lives next door raised the alarm at 7.15pm.
Three units of Ennistymon Fire Brigade were dispatched and arrived at the scene at 7.46pm.
The ambulance service was already in attendance and was attempting to resuscitate the victim.
Unfortunately the emergency services were unsuccessful in their attempts and Ms O’Loughlin who was in her fifties died at the scene.
Her brother Brian was laid to rest in the family cemetery in Kilfenora after he was hit by a car while out walking during a sunny October morning in San Francisco just over six months ago.
Ms O’Loughlin is survived by her father, her son and daughter who lives in South Africa, relatives and friends.
This is the first fatal fire in the county this year, and records show there were no deaths due to house fires last year in Clare.