Parents should ensure young children are kept away from open fires, the grandfather of a three-year-old Co Clare girl who died last Friday has warned.
Rebecca Kennedy died after her clothes caught fire when she was standing near an open fire. Mr Gabriel O'Gara, of Kilmealy, Co Clare, said he hoped other families could learn from what had happened to his granddaughter, "and that such a tragedy shall not happen again".
He told how his daughter, Mrs Sharon Kennedy, and her daughter, Rebecca, with other members of the family, had returned home at Feighroe, Connolly, near Ennis, from shopping in Limerick. They were unpacking their purchases when the tragic event took place.
Mr O'Gara said Rebecca had been with her sister, Ciara, who said Rebecca had her back to the open fire when her dress was caught by the flames. She ran to her mother who took some time to put out the flames and suffered burns herself. "It is frightening to think that a child's clothes could catch fire so easily. My advice is to be ultracautious and never forget the danger of an open fire, or even an electric one, which could be just as dangerous."
The funeral of Rebecca took place yesterday after Mass of the Angels at Connolly Church to Kilmealy cemetery. She is survived by her parents, Laurence and Sharon Kennedy, two sisters, grandparents, great-grandfather, uncles and aunts.