Funeral arrangements for couple who died in Lower Glanmire Road fire announced

The funeral of the couple who died following a house fire at their home on the Lower Glanmire Road will take place this week.

John and Gabrielle ‘Gay’ O’Donnell died in the blaze at their home on April 4 despite efforts to rescue them.

Several units of Cork Fire Brigade and the other emergency services attended the scene on the night.

The remains of the couple will repose at O’Connor’s Coburg Street Funeral Home on Tuesday, April 16, from 5pm to 6pm.

Their Requiem Mass will then be celebrated at St Patrick’s Church on the Lower Glanmire Road on Wednesday at 2pm.

Their funeral will then take place afterwards at The Island Crematorium in Ringaskiddy.

The couple are survived by their son Mark, and John’s sons, John and Damien, as well as grandchildren and other relatives.

It is understood that on the day that the couple died, John and Gay had been celebrating the birth of a grandchild.

The fire was reported at around 11.15pm and the emergency services were on the scene in minutes, according to locals.

After the fire was brought under control the bodies of John and Gay O’Donnell were taken from the scene.

The day after the fire, which gutted the building, traumatised neighbours and friends stood on the footpath across the road from where the tragedy occurred and watched as a unit of Cork City Fire Brigade tried to make the building safe.

At the scene, Fine Gael councillor for Cork city’s North East ward Joe Kavanagh described the couple as “real staunch decent people, pillars of the local community here”.

“They reared a family here, their family had grown up and moved out,” he said.

“Their loss will be deeply felt by the local residents and the residents living here in the local area are a very tight-knit residents’ group,” he continued.

Other local councillors including independent Ger Keohane and Ken O’Flynn of Independent Ireland expressed their condolences in the aftermath of the tragedy.