Senior Gardaí called in to investigate Inishbofin fire

The Garda investigation into the Inishbofin house-fire in which three elderly sisters were killed is being led by two of the West's most senior Gardaí. Assistant Commissioner Eamon Keating and Chief Superintendent Tom Monaghan flew to the County Galway island of Inishbofin to take charge of the investigation this evening. They say they are treating the fire and the deaths as suspicious. Members of the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation have also gone to the island to assist with house-to-house inquiries.

Gardaí say they intend to interview everybody who was on the island last night. This evening, the investigation team cordoned-off a large area around the burned-out house, but they declined to comment on speculation that a suspicious item had been found in the area. Meanwhile, the bodies of the three sisters have been moved to Galway University Hospital for examination, by the State Pathologist.

Eileen Coyne, an 82-year-old widow who lived on the island, and her sisters - 76-year-old Bridget McFadden and 72-year-old Margaret Concannon - who had come from England to holiday on the island, died in the blaze. A man who had also been staying in the house had a narrow escape as he was visiting in the neighbourhood and had returned to the house when the fire broke out. It is believed that the three women had gone to bed before the fire broke out and were attempting to flee from the house when they died. Their bodies were found inside a back door.

Earlier, the Minister for the Islands, Eamon O Cuiv, said an investigation into the lack of fire services on Inishbofin will be carried out following the house fire. Today, Mr O Cuiv went to the island, eight miles off the North Connemara coast, to express his condolences to the relatives of the three women. Islanders have complained that the deaths of the three elderly sisters could have been averted if equipment had been provided by Galway County Council.

The fire broke out at the house on the island in the early hours of this morning. Local people using fire extinguishers from a hotel fought the blaze for two hours. Joanne Elliot of the Inishbofin Development Association said that islanders had been appealing to the County Council since 1978 for fire fighting equipment. She said that a fire hydrant is stationed 100 metres from the scene and that lives could have been saved if hoses had been available.