Scottish priest dies in house fire
Father Michael Lynch, 73, parish priest of St Peter's Roman Catholic Church, Ardrossan died in a fire at his presbytery on Friday morning, 2 July 2004, An officer with Strathclyde Fire Brigade said the church house had been completely gutted by the blaze, which took 90 minutes to put out. In a statement, Strathclyde Police said they did not believe that the fire was suspicious, although they will be carrying out an investigation into he cause of the blaze.
Bishop John Cunningham said: "The sudden death of Father Michael Lynch in such tragic circumstances came as a great shock to me personally. "Although I have been Bishop of Galloway for just a few weeks, I have known Father Michael for 27 years.
"My heart goes out to his family and friends and to the parishioners of St. Peter's, who he has served as parish priest for some 25 years.
"I will of course be remembering the Lynch family and the people of St Peter's in my prayers, and I intend to join the parishioners in Ardrossan this weekend where I will celebrate all Sunday Masses with them."