THE FUNERALS of a Dublin man and his South African wife, shot dead last week at their Johannesburg home, will take place in the South African capital today.
According to a local news agency, Kevin McGuirk’s brother and one of his sons travelled recently from Ireland to South Africa to join local family members and mourn the passing of the well-liked couple, who ran a diving school from their home in the suburb of Alberton.
Other members of Mr McGuirk’s family from Ireland travelled to South Africa shortly after the killings occurred on Monday of last week.
Tomorrow’s service is scheduled to take place at 2pm at a private funeral home in central Johannesburg. The couple’s remains are to be cremated. The mourners will also gather to remember the pair at a wake.
Mr McGuirk (54) and his wife Kim (34) were allegedly murdered by her father, Erwin Poppinger (75), at the home the trio shared because of an ongoing argument over money.
As the funerals take place, Mr Poppinger, who has been charged with two counts of murder, is due back in court over the killings. He is scheduled to appear at Alberton magistrate’s court today where he is expected to make a bail application. Mr Poppinger claims to have acted in self-defence, according to his lawyer.
Legal documents lodged in court which are connected to the case have revealed the couple filed for a restraining order against Mr Poppinger just days before the double murder took place, but court officials had yet to make a ruling on the application.
Speaking to a local reporter yesterday, South African Douglas Norval, who regularly dived with the couple, said that even though more than a week had passed since the incident, everyone who knew the McGuirks were still in shock. “Kevin and Kim were gregarious people. Everyone in the diving community knew them and liked them. I have been on plenty of trips away with them, and they were always the life and soul of the party.
“The funeral will be a big deal for a lot of people as everyone is still stunned by what has happened. We all feel that we need to come together to remember the good times and how much they loved life,” he said.