THE TWO sisters who died in a fire in their home in the centre of Killorglin early yesterday were named locally as Ann O’Shea (65) and Rhetta O’Shea (68).
The sisters ran one of the oldest pubs in Killorglin, O’Shea’s bar in Langford Street, and were at the heart of the life of the street.
They lived in the pub which had been in their family for generations and formed part of a large three-storey building.
Locally the pub was known as Billy O’Shea’s after their late father. Rhetta, the sister most often behind the bar, was renowned locally as a witty storyteller.
The bar was known for its lively traditional music during the annual Puck fair and it was frequented by legal, political, sporting and other figures.
Their nephew, who helped the sisters in the bar at busy periods, is the Kerry all-Ireland football medal winner Billy O’Shea, an auctioneer and local radio sports commentator.
The fire in the large three-storey building was spotted between 2.30am and 3am when smoke was noticed emerging from the front windows. Local people and gardaí tried to enter the building but were beaten back by flames.
Six units of the fire brigade were called to the scene from Killorglin, Tralee and Killarney and a specialist fire-fighting crane was used to pour water from overhead to try to prevent the blaze from spreading to nearby buildings.
An hour later, firemen using breathing apparatus recoverd one body from the top of the stairs and a second body was recovered shortly before 7am.
Some of the adjacent buildings were damaged. Yesterday flowers lay at the door of the premises and locals, some of whom had been there throughout the night, stood close by in groups.
Killorglin area councillor Michael Cahill, who was at the scene yesterday morning, said “the whole of Killorglin and mid-Kerry is stunned. This was a great Puck house [referring to the annual Puck Fair] and people of different walks of life would frequent the bar.
“Langford Street would be the most residential street in Killorglin, and the people were exceptionally close and along with the sisters’ relations, they will all be deeply affected by this.”
Neighbour Donal Mangan said “the two sisters were greatly loved and respected by everyone”.
Supt Michael O’Donovan of Killorglin, who was at the scene throughout the night, said there was a huge sense of shock because the sisters were such a part of the community.
Supt O’Donovan also paid tribute to two alert locals who saw smoke coming from the building and reported it to gardaí who were nearby at the time.
“We are very grateful for the assistance provided by these people,” Supt O’Donovan said.
Formal identification of the bodies will not be possible until after the postmortem examination later today.
A team of Garda forensic specialists were at the scene yesterday and the cause of the fire has not yet been established.