A 49-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to murdering her children in a car fire in Westmeath last year.

Lynn Eagar, of Winetown in Rathowen, Westmeath, was due to stand trial early next year; however, she pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal court today.

Five-year-old Thelma Dennany and her two-year-old brother Michael Dennany both died after Eagar set fire to the car they were in on the roadside in Multyfarnham on September 9th, 2022.

Eagar was in the passenger seat of the car but was pulled to safety by a passer-by and suffered minimal burns.

Thelma Dennany and Mikey Dennany. Image: Supplied

After she pleaded guilty today, Mr Justice Paul McDermott imposed a life sentence for each of the two murders.

Garda Martina Walsh read out a statement on behalf of the families after she was sentenced.

“Thelma and Michael were happy fun-loving children overflowing with love and mischief,” it reads.

“Had they grown up they might have changed the world because they changed ours.

“Their absence has cast a shadow on our lives. That shadow is testament to the brightness of their light.

“We are utterly lost without them.”

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