A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the fire at a house in Edenderry, Co Offaly that killed a four-year-old boy and his grandaunt.
Tadgh Farrell was visiting his grandmother and his grandaunt Mary Holt at Castleview Park, Edenderry, when the attack on the home happened shortly before 7.45pm on December 6th, 2025.
The remains of Tadgh and Ms Holt were discovered in the front room of the house “where the fire was deliberately started”, gardaí said.
Tadgh’s grandmother, Pauline Holt, was also in the property in Edenderry when the attack occurred. She was seriously injured.
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The deaths of Ms Holt and Tadgh are being treated as murder, and a major investigation is now under way. Gardaí said they are keeping an “open mind” as to the reasons and motives for the “murderous attack”.
Investigators have carried out more than 250 house-to-house inquiries, retrieved more than 60 pieces of CCTV and taken over 100 written documents for the case.
The man, in his 20s, is being detained on suspicion of murder under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, at a Garda station in the midlands.
