The funeral details for the four family members who were tragically killed in an arson attack on their Waterford home have been announced.
It has been confirmed that a joint funeral mass for Kim and Philip English and their sons, Callum and Jayden, aged 12 and nine respectively, will take place on Monday afternoon. It will be held at the Sacred Heart Church in The Folly in Waterford City at 1pm.
They will then be laid to rest in Kilbarry Cemetery.
At the time of writing, two more children, aged six and 14 and 6 who were also in the house when the attack took place, remained in a critical condition at Children's Health Ireland at Crumlin.
The house where the English family lived in remains a crime scene, while a man and woman remain in custody over the attack.
The Birchwood Community continues to come to terms with this tragic event.
Amy McGuire is the manager of the Butler Community Centre in Waterford, which has been providing a range of services to those affected, and she said that she expects the support hub to get even busier of the next few days.
"We have been inundated with donations of food and supplies, and we have a team of counsellors, psychologists, psychotherapists who have all come together and are here to offer grief counseling to anybody who needs it.
"I'm sure it will be used a lot more than it is being used now because everybody is still digesting what has just happened", she continued: "The focus is right now on the two kids up in hospital, and obviously the funerals".
Ms McGuire added: "This will go on for many, many weeks and months, and God only knows because none of us, none of even the taskforce who are involved here have faced something like this [before]".
"But we we will be there, and we will have this safe space open to anybody who needs it for as long as it is needed".
Meanwhile, a minute's silence was held at a meeting of the Metropolitan District Meeting of Waterford City and County Council yesterday afternoon, as members still struggle to come to terms with the tragic events from earlier this week.
Lola O'Sullivan, Mayor of Waterford Metropolitan District Councillor, praised the emergency services for their response to this incident.
"Our thoughts and our prayers are with the family at this time", she said. "The community of Waterford is is really hurting for everybody involved, and we are extremely grateful to our emergency services, the ambulance crew, the fire service, the gardaí, and the staff at University Hospital Waterford who had to deal with it.
"We are also thinking at this time about those two children who are in Crumlin, who are fighting for their lives.
"And we're also thinking about the community at large who had to face the the unthinkable circumstances that unfolded," the mayor added. (All quotes in this piece according to RTÉ).
A book of condolences was also opened by the council, in memory of Philip and Kim and sons Callum and Jayden, which can be signed at City Hall in Waterford at the civic offices in Dungarvan during business hours.
A special balloon releasing ceremony also took place in the community earlier this week in honour of the English family. More on this here.
