Mother charged with murder unable to face court

By Tom Tuite

A mother charged with the murder of her children, Thelma and Mikey Dennany, in a car blaze in Westmeath last month was too unwell to face a court hearing today.

Thelma, aged five, and her two-year-old brother Mikey were fatally injured when their vehicle went on fire at around 4pm on September 9 at Lackan, a townland on a rural road connecting Multyfarnham and Coole.

Lynn Egar, 48, appeared before Judge Bernadette Owens at a late special sitting of Mullingar District Court on September 22. She was remanded in custody to the Dochas Centre, the women’s unit of Mountjoy Prison.

The mother-of-four was due to face her latest hearing at the same court this morning. She could not attend or appear via video link, and the Prison Service furnished the court with a sick note.

Judge Owens ordered that the note be shown to defence solicitor Damien Coffey, who was instructed to consent to a four-week adjournment.

Judge Owens remanded her in continuing custody in her absence to appear again on November 24.

Concerning the directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions, Garda Sergeant Kevin O’Brien said: “We will know more on the next date.”

Mikey Dennany was taken by ambulance to the Midlands Regional Hospital Mullingar but pronounced dead there. Emergency services found the remains of Thelma Dennany inside the car.

Their mother, Lynn Egar, also suffered injuries and was airlifted to a Dublin hospital.

A week and a half later, she was arrested and charged with the murders of Thelma and Michael Dennany at Lackan, Multyfarnham, on September 9, contrary to common law.

At her first hearing, she remained silent as Detective Sergeant David Donnelly told Judge Owens: “In reply to charge after caution, she made no reply.”

The district court does not have the jurisdiction to consider bail in murder cases, which only the High Court can consider.