This article is from page 6 of the 2006-11-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
AN inquest has heard how a man tried to wake his daughter as their Scarriff home was ablaze, but the young woman died in the fire.
Ennis Coroner’s Court was told that Suzanne Moroney (24), of Drewsboro, Scarriff, died in a fire on the night of Sunday, June 26, 2005.
Ms Moroney, who worked as a secretary, was pronounced dead at the scene of the blaze, after efforts to wake her failed.
Suzanne’s father, Denis Moroney, said he was at home with his wife and mother-in-law on the evening of June 26 last year.
His wife later went to Tuamgraney to collect Suzanne. Some time later he saw the light flickering in one of the bedrooms. The bedspread in that room was on fire and he grabbed his mother-in-law. Suzanne was asleep in bed in another room and he tried to wake her up.
“I said, ‘The house is on fire,’” he recalled.
Garda Liam Donoghue said he received a call to go to the scene of a fire at Drewsboro, Scarriff, shortly after 10.30pm.
When he arrived at the house, members of the fire services were at the scene and Garda Donoghue was told there was a body in the house.
“There was a huge fire around the house at that stage. There was a large crowd at the scene. A number of people had escaped from the house,” he said.
Dr Jeffrey de Freitas carried out an autopsy on the deceased’s body. He told the inquest that her face was covered in soot and she had sustained superficial burns on exposed parts of the body. He concluded that death was due to cardiac respiratory failure, due to carbon monoxide poisoning.
Coroner Isobel O’Dea said the case was “very sad. I am satisfied that an accidental fire broke out in the house. I feel an appropriate verdict is an accidental verdict, because it is quite clear a fire broke out in another room in the house,” she said.
Addressing the Moroney family, Ms O’Dea said, “It must have been terribly shocking for you. I hope the verdict brings some degree of closure for you.”
Ms O’Dea and Inspector Michael Gallagher expressed their sympathies with the Moroney family on their loss.