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Murder Inquiry Under Way After Deliberate Offaly House Fire Kills Boy, 4, and Woman, 60

Investigators believe the blaze was deliberate with a possible link to drug‑debt intimidation.

Overview

  • The victims were named as Mary Holt, 60, and her four-year-old grand-nephew Tadhg Farrell, while a woman in her 50s remains seriously injured in hospital.
  • Gardaí say the house was attacked and set alight deliberately and they are pursuing lines of inquiry that include organised criminals involved in the drugs trade, with no arrests announced.
  • The property remains a sealed crime scene under examination by the Garda Technical Bureau and post-mortems were completed on Sunday by Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margot Bolster.
  • Investigators are appealing for witnesses and dashcam footage from 7:00pm to 8:00pm on Saturday near Castleview Park, with an incident room open at Tullamore Garda Station.
  • Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said the attack was designed to kill and vowed relentless pursuit of those responsible, and Taoiseach Micheál Martin promised the perpetrators will be brought to justice.