Smoke stopped son from reaching mother in Ballina blaze

Smoke stopped son from reaching mother in Ballina blaze


Trevor Quinn

A 62-year-old woman in Ballina died in a house fire at her home at Convent Hill in the early hours of Sunday morning. While the investigation into the fire is ongoing, Gardaí in Ballina have confirmed that they are not treating the death as suspicious.
Ms Ann Hallinan is believed to have been alone in her home when the fire started. Her youngest son, Dominick, arrived back shortly after 4am and witnessed fire and smoke bellowing from the upstairs bedroom where his mother was sleeping.
Dominick Hallinan immediately contacted the emergency services. He tried to reach the room to rescue his mother. However, he was unable to do so because of dense smoke.
A short time later the Fire Service, Gardaí and Ambulance Service arrived at Convent Hill. Ms Hallinan was pronounced dead at the scene minutes after their arrival.
The area was subsequently sealed off for a number of hours and a detailed technical examination was carried out by a specialist garda unit.
A Garda spokesperson said that a post-mortem has been carried out on the deceased, and he confirmed that gardaí are not treating the death as suspicious.
The Garda spokesperson concluded by stating that gardaí had spoken to a large number of local residents in relation to the fire, but he appealed to anybody with any further information to contact Ballina Garda Station on 096 20560.
Ann Hallinan (nee O’Donovan) originally hailed from Ballydrehead, Ballisodare. She is survived by her daughter, Deirdre, and her sons, Patrick and Dominick.
The remains of the deceased are due to repose at McGowan’s Funeral Home, Ballina, this evening (Tuesday) from 6.30pm, with removal to St Muredach’s Cathedral at 8pm.
Requiem Mass will follow on Wednesday morning at 11am, with the funeral proceeding to St Nathy’s cemetery, Collooney.