Omagh fire death father to be buried separately

The funerals of the Omagh fire victims will take place tomorrow.

The funerals of the Omagh fire victims will take place tomorrow.

Arthur McElhill, Lorraine McGovern and their five children aged between 13 and nine months died when their home was destroyed in the blaze in the early hours of November 13th.

A funeral Mass for the seven dead will be celebrated at the Sacred Heart Church in the Co Tyrone town. Mr McElhill will be buried in his home town of Ederney, Co Fermanagh, while the rest of his family will be buried near the home of his partner in Corlough, Co Cavan.

The victims were formally identified on November 19th, but the bodies were not released for burial until funeral arrangements were concluded.

READ MORE

The PSNI has said little about its investigation other than to continue to insist that it is investigating "up to seven murders".

It is known that petrol was involved in the fire at the Lammy Crescent house, but police have not confirmed that anyone in the house at the time of the blaze is formally a suspect.

The end-of-terrace home is still screened off to facilitate the investigation. Just a few metres away is St Conor's school which two of the children attended. Counsellors have been helping pupils and staff there come to terms with the scale of loss.

Omagh is expected to come to a halt tomorrow morning as the funerals get under way.