Longford to come to standstill for tragic Westmeath siblings

Mikey (2) and Thelma (5) Dennany tragically lost their lives when the car in which they were travelling along with their mother, Lynn Egar, was found ablaze by a passing motorist shortly before 4pm.

Despite his heroic efforts in managing to drag Mikey and his mother from the vehicle, the toddler was unable to be saved.

The remains of Thelma were found in the vehicle when the blaze was brought under control.

Ms Egar, who has two other children of secondary school age, was airlifted from the scene to a hospital in Dublin, where her injuries were described as serious but not life threatening.

Detectives are hoping to speak with her over the coming days in a bid to establish how the car was found engulfed in flames.
The scene where the car, which had not crashed, went on fire underwent rigorous examination by the Garda Technical Bureau over the weekend while the vehicle was also taken from the scene for examination.

The family’s home in Rathowen, Co Westmeath, roughly 10km from Multyfarnham, was sealed off as part of the inquiry and detectives were trying to piece together the movements of Ms Egar and her two children before the incident.

That comes after Garda Commissioner Drew Harris confirmed on Monday how senior gardaí were satisfied there was a criminal nature to the investigation.

Ms Egar, who has two older children of school-going age, originally hails from Kildare but had lived and worked in Longford for years before moving to Westmeath after the birth of Mikey.

A candlelit vigil took place in Multyfarnham last Sunday night, attended by hundreds of people who turned out to remember the little brother and sister.

A large group of mourners gathered at the Children of Lir Montessori and Pre-school where Mikey had just begun attending earlier this month, before walking to St Cremin’s National School where Thelma was a senior infants pupil.

Principal Karl Dermody said the school was still coming to terms with news of the tragedy.

“Thelma will be remembered by classmates and teachers as a warm, happy, and vibrant member of St Cremin’s National School,” Mr Dermody said.

“We offer our sincere condolences to friends and family members as they come to terms with this tragic loss of life.

“As a school, our priority will be to take every step to ensure that the needs of our pupils and their families are met, at this challenging time.

“We will provide support to pupils and school staff to help them deal with this tragedy. Psychologists from the National Educational Psychological Services have been with us in our school supporting staff and parents.”

They were sentiments which were echoed in an equally poignant statement released by the staff and children at the Children of Lir pre-school expressed their “sincere sympathy to the family at the tragic loss of Thelma and Michael”.

The pair will be reposing at Glennon’s Funeral Home, Ballinalee Road, Longford today (Wednesday) from 4pm concluding with prayers at 8pm.

Both children will be laid to rest in Cullyfad Cemetery following Mass of the Angels in St Mel’s Cathedral, Longford, on Thursday at 11.00am.

A death notice on RIP.ie said the two children had passed away "unexpectedly" and were pre-deceased by their grandfather Austin Dennany and by their grandmother Thelma Egar.

"Mikey and Thelma will be sadly missed and remembered with love by their heartbroken family, father Michael, mother Lynn, sister Katelyn, brother Eddie, grandmother Mary, grandfather Herbert, aunts, uncles, relatives and friends," the funeral notice added.