A murder investigation has been launched after a 60-year-old woman and a four-year-old boy died in a house fire in Edenderry, County Offaly, in the Republic of Ireland. Emergency services tackled the blaze at a home in Castleview Park at around 8pm on Saturday but were unable to save the victims, later identified as Mary Holt and Tadhg Farrell.
Another woman in her 50s escaped the fire and is being treated in hospital with serious injuries. Postmortems were due to be carried out on Sunday. Police believe the fire was deliberately started and that the house was attacked by a person or persons unknown.
Superintendent Liam Geraghty described the crime as a “reckless, callous and murderous attack on a family home” during a press conference on Sunday. Police are appealing for anyone in the vicinity of Castleview Park on Saturday evening to come forward with information.
The Irish minister for justice, Jim O’Callaghan, condemned the “deliberate callous attack”, stating: “There is no place in a civilised society for such heinous violence.” Local councillor Fergus McDonnell, who knew the victims, told RTÉ that the whole town was “absolutely distraught”, describing the families as “ordinary, salt of the earth people”.
