Concern about Irishwoman grows

The Department of Foreign Affairs has said it is "very concerned" about an Irishwoman whose passport has been found in the Palace Backpackers Hostel.

The passport of Ms Julie O'Keefe was found in the debris of the hostel this weekend. The parents of the 24-year-old woman said they believed she was staying in the hostel on the night of the fire.

A statement issued by Ms O'Keefe's family on Saturday said they had been contacted by the Garda that morning "to say that Julie's passport has been found in the hostel at Childers.

"It is assumed that she was in the hostel when the fire broke out," the statement said. "She has not contacted home since the fire.

"We can confirm that she had been backpacking in that area and up until now had contacted us on a regular basis. The last time was by e-mail on Saturday last."

Her parents said Ms O'Keefe had gone to Australia in January to join her brother who works there. Ms O'Keefe attended Laurel Hill Convent in Limerick and has a marketing degree from Waterford Institute of Technology.

The Irish Ambassador to Australia, Mr Richard O'Brien, attended yesterday's memorial service in Childers for the backpackers who died. He told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the three Irishwomen known to have survived the fire were coping well thanks to the help they had received from locals.

"It's a harrowing and terrible experience but they are coping with the assistance of this magnificent local community who have responded so compassionately and with such great understanding."

One of the Irish survivors, Ms Ann Farrell, confirmed Mr O'Brien's praise of the local community.

"Every time they [the survivors] get upset there's someone there to put an arm around. They've just been fantastic, you know. It does make such a difference, you know, when you've been involved in it and you're so far away from home and your parents aren't here. You really do appreciate it," she said.

Two other Irish people who survived the fire were named locally as Ms Nessa Boyle and Ms Christine O'Donoghue.

The Department of Foreign Affairs could not confirm last night what part of Ireland they were from.