TRIBUTES HAVE BEEN paid to a father and son, aged in their 80s and 50s, after the two men died in a house fire in Co Tipperary on Monday morning.

The blaze broke out at a two-storey property in Littleton, near Thurles, at around 2.30am.

Two bodies were found at the scene on McDonagh Terrace in the village.

The men have since been named locally as Stephen Lee and his son John Lee.

In a statement yesterday, Tipperary Fire and Rescue Service expressed “deep condolences” to the families of those that lost their lives in the incident, which they described as “very tragic”.

Stephan Lee lived in the house and his son, John, visited regularly on a Sunday night to care for him.

Local councillor Sean Ryan also paid tribute, describing Stephen and John as “treasured members of the community”.

“The two were very well known, very well respected and an absolutely lovely family,” Ryan told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.

“The neighbors are devastated there in Littleton, my own parents just live around the corner from the family. There’s just complete and utter devastation that this tragedy happened in our village, and just we send out our sympathies to all the extended family and John’s family at this extremely tough time”.

Littleton Parish Priest, Fr Tom Fogarty, described Stephen Lee as a “very quiet, unassuming man”.

Fogarty knew the father and son, and said the pair were well known and deeply respected in the tightly knit village.

“Everybody knew him, his gentle smile, deep sincerity and unassuming personality endeared him to everybody,” Fogarty told Morning Ireland.

Fogarty added that Stephen’s son John, who lived about an hour away from Littleton in Emly, Co Tipperary, was remembered fondly by the community.

“John used to come and look after his father, the family were very supportive to Stephen, including all of Stephen’s grandchildren. They’re just deeply respected and highly regarded as the community.”