Sole survivor of horrific Clondalkin house fire regains consciousness

The only survivor of a fire that claimed the lives of three children and one expectant mother has regained consciousness this week.

Biddy O’Brien spent six weeks in intensive care after a fire broke out in a women’s refuge in Clondalkin in March. Tragically, the house fire killed Biddy’s two children; four-year-old Jordan and three-year-old Holly, her cousin Anne Marie O’Brien and her child, three-year-old Paris. After waking from a coma this week, Biddy was told the devastating news that her two children had been killed in the fire – a heartbreaking task that fell to her partner Jamie. The family said that the thoughts of telling Biddy the horrific news was a “weight on their shoulders” in the six weeks she’s been unconscious. “I think it’s a great burden taken off his shoulders and I would say that it's a relief to get over that hurdle,” Biddy’s cousin, Jim, told The Independent. The family are said to have been by the mum-of-two’s bedside while she was in intensive care and prayed for her recovery over the last few weeks. The news of the tragic fire resulted in people across the country sending well-wishes to the family and sharing their hopes for Biddy's speedy recovery – something which the family say they are incredibly grateful for.