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Funeral of Abbeylara fire victim this Friday

The victim of a house fire at the weekend will be laid to rest this Friday. Funeral arrangements were announced earlier today. Former schoolteacher Mary Ann McNerney (83) of Camagh, Abbeylara, Longford died last Saturday [March 3, 2018] following a blaze at her home in Camagh.

Emergency services were alerted after a neighbour spotted smoke and flames rising above the pensioner's remote rural house.

Ms McNerney's body was later recovered from the destroyed property after the fire was brought under control by units of the fire brigade, which had been dispatched from Castlepollard and Granard.

Ms McNerney lived alone at the property following the sudden death of her brother William in back February 2017. He and his sister had lived in the area all their lives, according to locals.

The scene was preserved by Gardaí for technical examination.

A post-mortem examination on Ms McNerney's body was carried out at Mullingar Hospital.