Memorial for Carrickmines fire victims vandalised

A statue and plaque commemorating victims of the Carrickmines fire has been vandalised.

Local Labour Councillor Peter O’Brien said he was “disgusted” at the damage done to the memorial which is near the site of the tragedy.

“Words fail me at the mindlessness of some people. I am horrified to see this,” he said.

In October 2015 the fire claimed the lives of Thomas Connors (27); Sylvia Connors (nee Lynch, 30) and three of their children, Jimmy (5), Christy (3) and Mary (6 months); Willie Lynch (25) and Tara Gilbert (27), her daughter Jodie Gilbert (9) and their daughter Kelsey (4), their unborn child, and Sylvia and Willie’s brother, Jimmy Lynch (39).

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Earlier this week, the relatives of those who were killed in the fire moved back into the halting site which has been redeveloped by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.

The fire, which broke out in the early hours of the morning, spread rapidly from caravan to caravan as many of those who died were sleeping.

In the aftermath of the fire the survivors called for an inquiry saying the council had positioned caravans too close together.

They said the fire hydrant had been cut off and electrical work had been carried out the day before the blaze.

Inquests into the deaths on the site are to resume next month after being adjourned in March to allow gardaí continue their inquiries into the incident.