A RETIRED Limerick businessman died in a house fire in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia on Tuesday.
James ‘Jim’ Hennessy (74), originally from the Ennis Road area of Limerick City, died when fire broke out in his home of twenty years.
Emergency services said the blaze had already taken hold when they arrived on the scene on Tuesday morning. They had to force their way into the house and found Mr Hennessy on the first floor.
A police investigation has been launched into the cause of the fire.
Mr Hennessy is a former pupil of the Model School and St Munchin’s College. His sister is the well-known artist, Kate Hennessy.
A long-time friend, Gerard Baggott from Limerick, told the Limerick Post that the news was “a huge shock. We were friends from the time we went to the Model school together and took part in a play that won the All-Ireland drama.
“Jim was a lovely, quiet man.”
