Man in his 80s dies in Westmeath house fire
A man aged his 80s has died following a house fire in Co Westmeath.
The fire occurred at a house in the Gilbertstown area of Castlepollard at around 1am on Wednesday.
The man was pronounced deceased at the scene.
His body was removed to the mortuary at Mullingar where an autopsy is due to take place. It is understood that foul play is not suspected at this time.
The fire comes after two people were killed in a house fire in Galway on Tuesday.
One of the two people who were killed was Sunny Jacobs, who served 17 years in prison, including time on death row, after she was wrongfully convicted of the murder of a US policeman and a Canadian constable.
She was 76.
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Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Sunny Jacobs' death in Galway fire marks end of life shaped by wrongful conviction and resilience
As Sunny Jacobs sat in her tiny cell on death row waiting to be executed for a crime she insists she did not commit, she decided the only way she could find some peace was to pretend she was a monk in a cave, and not a prisoner in a cell. Every day, she would work on her mind, because that was all she had left that belonged to her. As a young mother of two, Sunny spent 17 years in prison and five in solidarity confinement on death row in the US before she was released — in 1992 — at the age of 45. In 1976, she had been accused of murdering two police officers who approached a car she was in with her partner, Jesse Tafero, her two young children, and an acquaintance, Walter Rhodes, who had broken parole conditions. As they approached the car, the police officers were fatally gunned down. Rhodes blamed the murders on Sunny and Jesse — who were tried and sentenced to death. Jesse Joseph Tafero was put to death in 1990 — a malfunctioning electric chair meant it took several attempts and 13 minutes to kill him. Flames reportedly shot out of his head during the horrifying execution. 'I still grieve for him' Sunny said in her soft American accent when we first met in 2008. 'It was so awful, really, all I could do was try to survive. I can't imagine it, I try not to.' Her parents, who were caring for her children Christina and Eric while she was in prison, were killed in a plane crash — Christina went into foster care and Eric, a teenager, learned to support himself. Sunny Jacobs had experienced the worst type of hell on earth. After she had found peace and tranquillity in the west of Ireland years later, where she lived in an idyllic community in Casla, Co Galway, with people who adored her, she expected to live out her life in peace. But sadly, that was not to be. Early last Tuesday, Sunny, who was 78, died along with her carer, Kevin Kelly, as a blaze ripped through her cottage. It was a tragic end to a remarkable life that was documented in books, a play, and a film, The Exonerated. All week, tributes have poured in for the woman who beat all the odds and had survived nearly two decades behind bars. Her RIP notice said 'We share the tragic news of Dr Sunny Jacob's tragic death at her home in Casla, Connemara, Co Galway on June 03, 2025. 'Sunny, a beloved member of the community as well as the wider international community where she was well-known for her humanitarian work and as an activist supporting and giving a voice to others. 'She is a huge loss, and will be heartbreakingly missed by her daughter Christina, son Eric, and grandchildren, Claudia, Jesse, and Bella. She was loved and will be missed by many, many close friends and family. Proceeded in death by her spouse Jesse Tafero, and her late husband and activist, Peter Pringle.' The first time Sunny Jacobs told me her story was in 2008 when I worked on a late-night talk show. She recalled how after Jessie's horrific execution, Walter Rhodes confessed he had fired the fatal shots, 'He confirmed what Jesse and I had said all that time, but it was too late for him, and I had lost so much, my children were not with me, my parents killed so horribly,' she said. What was I to do? I had nothing left, it was beyond traumatic, shocking, the worst, yes the worst, but the only thing the authorities didn't take was my mind. 'I had some control over my mind, but I had to learn to work with my mind and that is where I learned meditation, yoga, mindfulness and how important it was. 'It kept me alive, it really did, so I began working on my mental state, I pretended I was a monk praying in a cave and not a prisoner in a cell. All those dark days when you are alone in that cell, with no window and no light, you have your mind, you either lose your mind or use it to its full potential." By deciding she was not going to be a prisoner, Sunny believed she gave herself some hope. 'Outside of my cell and the prison, death row, the world, the death of those police officers, the death of Jesse, my parents' deaths, my kids being left without parents, that was the nightmare. 'I would allow myself to be really really angry for a few minutes, and then I began to believe I was a monk. I was in a cave and not a cell, I was not a prisoner, instead I was a monk. 'I'm not particularly religious, I just wanted to find peace and somehow this drove me to peace and my own mind saved me from hell. 'I know what happened was awful but why think about it now?' she said years later. 'I came here to Ireland to find peace and I did get peace. I am surrounded by a lovely community'. For years afterwards, Sunny and I spoke to each other on email and the phone. Every so often, she would pop up on chat, when online chat first went live. She would say things like: 'Hey again, this is like meeting on street corners, I'll talk to you real soon." She told me about that awful night in the US, and although she did not witness the events from inside the van where she was sleeping with her children, she has always said Walter Rhodes murdered the police officers. Having fled the scene in the police car, they were captured at a roadblock and arrested. Sunny Jacobs with her late partner Peter Pringle, who spent 14 years in prison for the murder of two gardaí, before being exonerated. Sunny Jacobs and Jesse Tafero were sentenced to death, while Rhodes was given three life sentences, despite being the only one to have tested positive for traces of gunpowder. Sunny, when freed, went on to live in Galway with her partner Peter Pringle, who led a parallel life to hers, having been wrongly imprisoned himself for 15 years. 'I think the universe brought us together as a gift because both of us had chosen the path of peace and healing, rather than revenge or retribution' she said. That path included forgiving those responsible for what happened to her, but she said it was not a selfless act. 'For me, forgiveness is a selfish act that I do for myself so that I don't have to live with hatred in my heart and I can fill those places with joy and love and happiness instead and it's just as simple as that.' Her ability to forgive always astounded me because she suffered so much in her life. I told her I would understand if she hated the world. But, "I never did", she said. My kids suffered of course, they lost their father and me. I was not dead, but they knew what happened to their dad, they would always find out. 'Christina went into foster care, and she believed we were guilty of those crimes. My son Eric had to make his own way in life' By the time Sunny was released from prison in 1992, her children were adults, her son was a dad, and she had to learn to live a new way. 'I was not the young mother anymore with my two tiny children' she said. 'I was in my 40s, and they were all grown up.' She met her future husband Peter Pringle through Amnesty International in Galway after her release. He had also been on death row in Ireland for the murder of gardaí John Morley and Henry Byrne in July 1980. He had spent 14 years in jail before being released, saying he had been exonerated and later wrote a book claiming he had been framed. They set up the Sunny Centre together and worked in mediation and trauma healing. Peter died on New Year's Eve at home in Glenicmurrin in 2023. Despite all the horrors in her life, Sunny found peace in Galway. She had an incredible emotional intelligence and an ability to see outside the trauma and terror — working on her mind so she could find contentment. 'When I realised they could not take my mind in prison, I was able to see a future, and moving here to Galway I found that future, and I found my peace.' Read More Garda Commissioner confirms review into Tina Satchwell case amid scrutiny of 2017 house search
Sunday World
14 hours ago
- Sunday World
Irishman arrested for 'illegally re-entering the United States'
Another man was arrested and accused of abetting him The case stems from an IRS audit of Eaton's 2017-2019 tax returns, focused on whether the company improperly shifted intellectual property (IP) to Ireland. Photo: Getty An Irishman has been arrested in Vermont for 'illegally re-entering the United States.' Andrew McRedmond (42) and Michael Doherty (41) were arrested on May 31st by United States Border Patrol. Both men were charged with criminal complaints. McRedmond was charged with 'illegally re-entering the United States as an alien and entry into the United States at a time or place other than authorised.' Meanwhile, his associate, who lives in Quincy, Massachusetts, was arrested for 'transporting McRedmond in furtherance of his illegal entry.' The pair appeared before Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle on June 2nd. He ordered Doherty was released on conditions of pretrial supervision pending further proceedings, while McRedmond was told he must remain behind bars. According to court records in the early hours of May 31st, a man wearing a blue hat with white mesh was seen walking across a golf course in Vermont, a quarter mile south of the US/Canadian border. Cops determined that a vehicle driven by Doherty had recently crossed the US border, and was also in the vicinity of the person seen in the woods near the golf course. When his vehicle was stopped by police, they found McRedmond was also inside the vehicle. The blue hat with white mesh was also seen on the dashboard. The case stems from an IRS audit of Eaton's 2017-2019 tax returns, focused on whether the company improperly shifted intellectual property (IP) to Ireland. Photo: Getty News in 90 Seconds - 6th June 2025 After his arrest McRedmond admitted that he was in the US illegally, and that he coordinated with Doherty to be picked up near the international border. In a statement, the US Attorney's office said that 'the complaints contain allegations only and that Doherty and McRedmond are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.' Michael Doherty faces up to five years behind bars if convicted, while Andrew McRedmond faces two years.
Irish Post
2 days ago
- Irish Post
Witness appeal after deaths of two people in Galway house fire
GARDAÍ have appealed for witnesses to come forward after two people died in a house fire in Connemara, Co. Galway. Officers and members of the fire service were called to reports of a fire at a home at Gleann Mhic Mhuireann in Casla at around 6.20am on June 3. Once the fire was brought under control the bodies of two people were discovered at the scene. They have since been named locally as Sonia 'Sonny' Jacobs, a US native, aged in her 70s, who moved to Ireland more than a decade ago. Ms Jacobs had previously served 17 years in a US prison, including time on death row, after she was wrongfully convicted of the murder of a US policeman and a Canadian constable. Sonia 'Sonny' Jacobs died in the house fire A man in his thirties, who is understood to have been her carer, also died in the incident. He has been named locally as Kevin Kelly, who was from the Casla area. Confirming his 'unexpected and tragic death' Mr Kelly's family said he will be 'lovingly missed and always remembered by his mother Fiona, his father Ken, Ken's partner Maureen and her son Jonathan, Kevin's partner Sheree and his siblings Jill and Cúán'. Mr Kelly's funeral will take place at Discovery Church at 1pm on June 7. The family have asked mourners to wear bright colours to the service. 'We respectfully request that we celebrate his wonderful life by all wearing bright colours to represent the fun, laughter and personality of Kevin,' they said. Gardaí have appealing for any witnesses to the incident to come forward. Anyone with information is asked to contact Clifden Garda Station on 095 22500, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station,' they state. See More: Connemara, Galway, House Fire
