Clue search in fire tragedy house

Post mortem examinations are being carried out on the bodies of a family of four killed in a house fire in County Wexford.

Gardaí are treating as suspicious the fire in Clonroche, a village between Enniscorthy and New Ross.

The bodies of Dermot Flood, 41, his wife Lorraine, 38, and their two children, six-year-old Mark and Julie, five, were found in the house.

A licensed gun belonging to a member of the wider family circle was recovered.

Detectives said Mr and Mrs Flood both sustained additional injuries which were not caused by the fire, but they would not confirm whether they were gunshot wounds.

There was no sign of a break-in, and police investigating the blaze are not looking for anyone else.

The alarm was raised by a neighbour at about 0530 BST on Saturday.

Fire crews who attended the blaze found the bodies of the parents and the two children inside.

Mrs Flood was a first cousin of Republic of Ireland soccer international Kevin Doyle.

The Reading striker was told the news by his team manager Steve Coppell at half time in their game against Wigan.

Coppell said: "His family had wanted to keep it from him until after the match but I felt the right thing to do was to tell him what had happened.

"He felt, very bravely, that he wanted to play and he was terrific given the circumstances. I can only imagine what he was thinking about before the game."