A Green Party councillor has vowed not to be silenced by thugs who tried to burn down his house in what he has described as "the attempted murder" of himself and his family because of his outspoken views on anti-social behaviour.
Cllr Chris O'Leary admitted that he, his wife Angela and their daughter Orla (12) were lucky to escape with their lives following the petrol-bomb attack on their two-storey terraced home at Loughmahon Road in Mahon, Cork city early yesterday morning.
"If I wasn't a light sleeper, you would be talking to my neighbours about coffins going out the door - there were people asleep in this house when it was attacked and, to my mind, this was nothing short of attempted murder," said Cllr O'Leary.
Cllr O'Leary told The Irish Times how he had been woken at about 3.30am when security lighting on his house came on. When he went downstairs to investigate, he found a strong smell of burning and discovered his front porch door in flames.
"I ran to the kitchen to get the hands-free phone and dialled 999 on my way back upstairs to wake my wife Angela and my daughter Orla. We got back down the stairs past this intense heat and flames from the front door and out the back of the house."
Cllr O'Leary described how they could hear their neighbours in a panic as they tried to fight the blaze at the front of the house before they realised that he and his family had managed to escape.
"The fire brigade came and they had breathing apparatus and they treated us at the scene for smoke-inhalation before we were taken by ambulance to Cork University Hospital where we were checked out before being discharged," he said.
It is the third time Cllr O'Leary's house and property has been attacked, following two incidents in September 2004 when a concrete block was thrown through his front window and his car was vandalised.
"I have a fair idea who was behind this attack . . . It's all over my consistent stance against anti-social behaviour and my encouragement to people to stand up to these thugs and gurriers," he said.
"It takes a lot to shake me, but this has taken a lot out of me. But I'm not going to be deterred from speaking out. There is a war going on in our communities . . . and it's a war we have to win."
Supt Mick Finn, of Anglesea Street Garda station, said gardaí were treating the matter very seriously. The double door on Cllr O'Leary's home prevented a more serious outcome, said Supt Finn.
He said there had been a number of incidents in Mahon early yesterday morning - including the torching of a car, the theft of a motorbike and the stoning of a house, as well as the attack on Cllr O'Leary's house. He believed all were related.
Supt Finn appealed to the public for assistance and asked anyone who noticed anything suspicious in the Mahon area to contact Blackrock Garda station on 021-4357401.
Last night, two young men were taken into custody for questioning.