Tadhg Farrell (4) and his grand-aunt Mary Holt (6) were killed after a petrol bomb was hurled in a downstairs window of the family home in Castleview Park in Edenderry, Co Offaly last weekend
Tadhg Farrell was being babysat by Mary Holt when a petrol bomb was hurled in a downstairs window of the family home in Castleview Park in Edenderry, Co Offaly at around 7.45pm last Saturday evening.
The funeral of the young boy takes place this morning in Edenderry, Co Offaly.
Gardaí are now hunting the gang responsible for the attack.
Mary Holt, 60, was found dead with Tadhg in the front room of the house (Gardai/PA)
Garda teams from the Serious Crime Unit are carrying out three searches at domestic residences in Co Kildare and Co Offaly, gardaí confirmed this morning.
They are supported by other National Units including the Special Tactics & Operations Command (STOC) which includes the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) and the Armed Support Units (ASU), Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI) and Garda units from Laois/Offaly Garda Division and Kildare/Carlow Garda Division.
Tadgh Farrell, who was killed in the Edenderry firebombing attack
Offaly CCTV from Gardai
They are also appealing for anyone with any information to speak with investigating Gardaí.
Orders
As part of the probe, detectives are investigating whether the firebomb attack was ordered from behind bars.
A major garda search operation has also taken place in the Midlands Prison, Co Laois.
Detectives believe the targeted attack was carried out by a local crime group, based primarily in Kildare and Offaly, against a male relative of the family.
While the people in the house at the time had absolutely no involvement in criminality, a man who previously lived at the property is currently before the courts charged over a significant drug seizure.
Tadgh Farrell, who was killed in the Edenderry firebombing attack
News in 90 Seconds – 12 December 2025
This individual, aged in his late 20s, was in custody in the Midlands Prison at the time of the attack as he is awaiting sentencing for the drug matter.
It is now suspected he may have been targeted by the gang because of his alleged involvement in a jail assault.
He is now subject to “special monitoring and support” by jail staff and is said to be “absolutely devastated” over the firebomb attack.
“A revenge attack is being looked at as the most likely motive here but it is very early days,” a source said.
Gardaí and prison authorities are now investigating if the arson attack happened after one inmate was attacked by three others in the Midlands Prison earlier on Saturday.
Candle and flowers left outside a property at Castleview Park, where four-year-old Tadhg Farrell and his great aunt Mary Holt were killed in a suspected arson attack on Saturday in Edenderry, Co Offaly. Picture date: Wednesday December 10, 2025.
It is understood that associates of the attacked prisoner carried out the fatal firebombing a few hours later.
Conversations recorded on prison phones are now being sought by investigators, as well as any other evidence they may find in individual cells.
The inmate who was attacked on Saturday has now been moved to a different prison but his cell and other items in the Midlands have been the subject of thorough searches by gardaí.
A source said a revenge attack over the assault incident in jail on Saturday is a “possibility”, adding the the inmate was not seriously hurt in the assault and suffered “a few scrapes and bruises”.
“The pressure is on now to get evidence and that is the primary focus. It most definitely appears to be some form of retaliation at this stage,” the source added.
Members of the local community gathered for a vigil in Edenderry on Wednesday night (Bairbre Holmes/PA)
It comes as gardaí have issued a nationwide alert for all units to be on the lookout for a getaway vehicle used by a gang that firebombed the innocent family’s home.
Detectives are now hunting for the gang responsible for the shocking attack and yesterday issued a nationwide alert to gardaí to report any burnt-out cars to the investigation team based in Tullamore as they try and locate the getaway vehicle.
Another relative, the little boy’s grandmother, Pauline Holt, who is aged in her 50s, suffered serious injuries in what gardaí described as a “reckless, callous and murderous attack”.
