Gardaí on manhunt for gang that killed four-year-old boy and his grandaunt in Offaly firebomb attack

Gardaí have described the attack as 'reckless and callous'

Gardaí have since issued a nationwide alert for all units to be on the lookout for a getaway vehicle, believed to belong to the gang that firebombed an innocent family's home.

Tadhg Farrell was being babysat by his grandaunt at the time, Mary Holt (60). The pair were sitting in the living room when a petrol bomb was hurled through a downstairs window, leading to the living room being engulfed in flames.

The attack on the house on Castleview Park in Edenderry, Co Offaly, happened at around 7.45 pm on Saturday.

Gardaí have since been trying to track the gang down.

Another relative to the family, Tadhg's grandmother, Pauline Holt, aged in her 50s, also suffered serious injuries in what gardaí have described as a "reckless, callous and murderous attack", per the Irish Independent.

Detectives believe that the attack was committed by a local crime group as part of a drug-related intimidation campaign targeting a male relative of the family.

A man who previously lived at the property is currently before the courts regarding a significant drug seizure.

The man, in his late 20s, was in custody at the time of the attack, and he is currently in prison awaiting sentencing for the drug-related matter.

"This individual has convictions for drug dealing, and gardaí strongly suspect that this was an act of violence against him, even though he wasn’t in the property at the time. Those involved would have known this," a source said, per the Irish Independent.

"What they might not have known is that a child was in the house, and they may not have intended to cause this amount of devastation, but these are the consequences of throwing a petrol bomb into a family home, and this will result in murder charges."

Garda Superintendent Liam Geraghty confirmed a murder investigation had been launched during a press conference at Edenderry garda station yesterday.

He described the attack as a "reckless, callous and murderous attack on a family home".

Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan also strongly condemned what he described as a "deliberate, callous attack" on the house.

"There is no place in a civilised society for such heinous violence. I join An Garda Síochána in appealing to anyone with information to come forward," he told RTÉ.

Earlier, Supt Geraghty told the media: "Emergency services, including Offaly Fire and Rescue Service, National Ambulance Service and gardaí, responded to the fire shortly before 7.45 pm.

"The fire was extinguished, and the remains of two persons, a woman aged 60 and a four-year-old boy, were discovered deceased.

"A second woman, aged in her 50s, was transported from the scene by the National Ambulance Service and is receiving hospital treatment for serious injuries.

"The house has been declared a crime scene and is currently subject to technical examination by the Garda Technical Bureau.

"The office of the local coroner and the state pathologist have been notified.”

He added: "The remains of both deceased have been removed from the scene and post-mortems will be carried out by the assistant state pathologist, Margot Bolster, at the Midland Regional Hospital, Tullamore, commencing this afternoon.

"This murder investigation is being co-ordinated from an incident room at Tullamore garda station under the direction of a senior investigating officer.

"An Garda Síochána believes that the house was attacked by a person or persons unknown at this time and that the fire was deliberately started. This was a reckless, callous and murderous attack on a family home."