Relatives of an Irishman who died in England last month have been tracked down after an appeal was issued over Christmas for information.
Irish probate genealogy firm Erin Research has said it has made contact with some of the surviving relatives of John Joseph Gill.
Birmingham City Council made an appeal to try to find relatives of the 86-year-old who had lived in the city for many years and who died last month.
The council had very little information on Mr Gill, but they believed he was born in Co Roscommon on 31 August 1936.
They were seeking to contact relatives before making funeral arrangements.
Erin Research said it was able to establish that Mr Gill was not from Co Roscommon and the date of birth was a day out.
"He was from Delvin in Co Westmeath. Once we had the birth certificate, we were able to unravel the family tree," said Padraic Grennan, Probate Genealogist from Erin Research.
The company was able to get a copy of the marriage certificate for Mr Gill's parents and from there they were able to look for siblings.
"There are two living siblings and we have identified three nieces and nephews," Mr Grennan told RTÉ's News at One.
Mr Grennan has spoken to a brother living in Canada and a niece in Birmingham, who was surprised to hear she had an uncle living in the city.
The company has contacted Birmingham City Council and explained that they have tracked down the next of kin.
"The death will be registered formally next Tuesday and it's nice to be able to say there will be some family members there when he gets his final send off," he said.
Mr Grennan said the company felt compelled to help out with the case, which was not difficult to solve.
"This is an Irishman abroad who could have ended up in a pauper's grave," he said.
"We helped on a pro bono basis, and it wasn't difficult to solve."
