Funeral arrangements announced for house fire victim Christy 'Crunchie' Holt
The funeral arrangements for Edenderry fire victim Christy 'Crunchie' Holt have been confirmed for Sunday, as his devastated family made the heartbreaking announcement.Christy lost his life in a fire earlier this week at the same property in Castleview Park where his grandnephew Tadgh Farrell, 4, and sister Mary, 60, were killed when a petrol bomb was thrown at the house on December 6 last year.Mr Holt's remains were found in an upstairs bedroom after a fresh blaze erupted in the early hours of Tuesday morning, March 24.Gardaí are understood not to be treating the death as suspicious, with the incident believed to be a tragic accident.Earlier this week, gardaí confirmed that the results of the post-mortem examination on Mr Holt are being withheld for operational reasons, and that a file is being prepared for the Coroner, reports the Irish Mirror.In a notice published on RIP, his family said Christy would be deeply missed by his son Jack, daughter Marcella, grandson Leo, brothers and sisters Michael, Johnny, Margaret, Declan, Pauline and Brendan, their husbands, wives and partners, nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews, relatives and friends.Mr Holt will repose at Larkin's Funeral Home in Edenderry this Saturday from 5pm to 7pm, with a Prayer Service at 7pm.His funeral Mass will be held at St Mary's Church, Edenderry on Sunday at 2pm, followed by burial in St Mary's Cemetery. Tributes have continued to pour in for Mr Holt, with one mourner writing: "Rest in peace Crunchy, a pure gentleman, condolences to all his family and friends," while another added: "Deepest sympathy to all the family. May Crunchy rest in peace," and a further tribute read: "So sorry to all the family at this sad time. May Christy rest in peace."Earlier, Mr Holt's niece Jessie Judge spoke to the Irish Mirror, revealing that the family had been informed he had been keeping warm at night by burning candles in the property - ever since his sister Mary and grandnephew Tadgh tragically perished in a fire last December."We were told he had a candle there to keep him warm," said a heartbroken Jessie. "He never used to light candles. I'd say there wasn't any ESB in the house because they had to disconnect it. So he was living in the dark."Paying tribute to her uncle, Jessie was keen to emphasise that despite having faced certain difficulties in life, he was fundamentally a "kind" and harmless individual."Crunchie was a kind, caring person. He'd look after anyone," Jessie said. "He put his kids before himself as well. He's got two beautiful kids. His daughter had a child not long ago."She added that this devastating blaze had reignited the trauma the family endured last December."It's like it's happened all over again. That was horrendous, it was two innocent people. Tadgh was only a baby. With this it's all still fairly early and we don't know exactly why it happened."Want to see more of the stories you love from Dublin Live? Making us your preferred source on Google means you’ll get more of our exclusives, top stories and must-read content straight away. To add Dublin Live as a preferred source, simply click here.
