THE REMAINS OF one of the two Irish men killed in last month’s earthquake in New Zealand have returned to Ireland for burial.

Eoin McKenna, 41, had been living in New Zealand for six years while working as a psychiatric nurse. He was out shopping in Christchurch when the earthquake struck at lunchtime on February 22.

The quake caused some debris to fall from a building overhead, which collapsed on McKenna’s car and killing him.

McKenna’s wife Sarah and children – Grace, 6, and Tadhg, 5  - had been on a trip to visit family elsewhere in the country when the quake struck. Local reports suggested they had only become aware of Eoin’s fate when the hospital he worked in called them to say he had not showed up for work.

The Irish Examiner says large crowds are expected to visit his family home in Emyvale in Co Monaghan and express their sympathies over the loss of the father-of-two.

Eoin had previously trained and worked in London before spending time in Saudi Arabia, where it was reported he had met his wife.

As well as his native New Zealander wife and his two children, McKenna is survived by his mother and seven siblings.

TheJournal.ie understands that the body of the second Irishman killed in the quake, accountant JJ O’Connor from Co Kerry, will not be returned to Ireland for burial.