Two families prepare to bring home remains of their loved ones

Two Meath families are this week making arrangements to bring home the remains of loved ones who have died abroad. Dunderry man Noelie Murtagh passed away over the weekend as a result of injuries he sustained in a fire at a holiday apartment in Lanzarote just over three weeks previously, while in Australia, a young Skryne woman, Sarah McGoldrick, died of a mystery illness while on a year-long trip travelling around the continent. Mr Murtagh"s son, Darren, has been in Seville in Spain since his father was transferred to hospital there from the Canary Islands. The 49-year old from Fr Flood Park, Dunderry, was on holiday with his partner in Puerto del Carmen, on the island of Lanzarote, when a fire broke out in his apartment in the early hours of Thursday 11th September, the day he was due to return home. The father-of-three suffered second and third degree burns to 60 per cent of his body and was maintained in a drug-induced coma. Initially, he was taken to a hospital in Lanzarote, but was then transferred to a larger hospital in Las Palmas, on the neighbouring island of Gran Canaria due to the seriousness of his condition, before he was flown to a special burns unit in a Seville hospital, on the Spanish mainland. His partner, Ellen Farrelly, suffered burns to her hands in the outbreak. Mr Murtagh, who was a native of Bohermeen, has a son and two daughters: Anne-Marie (23), Darren (21) and Kelly-Anne (13). The McGoldrick family from Macetown, Tara, hopes to repatriate the remains of Sarah today (Wednesday) from Perth, where she passed away on Monday of last week, having earlier travelled there by train from Melbourne. Ms McGoldrick, a sister of Skryne senior player David McGoldrick, was due to return home from Australia in December and was feeling unwell following her arrival in Perth where she was staying with a friend. A Montessori teacher, she had been visited in Australia by her parents, Nano and Padraig, in June. She is also survived by her brothers, Paul, David and Derek, and sister, Niamh. The family is well-known for its community involvement in Rathfeigh and Skryne. At weekend Masses in Skryne, prayers were offered for Ms McGoldrick and her family as they awaited the return of her remains. It is believed a second post mortem will take place in Ireland, as one in Australia is understood to have proved inconclusive.