There is nothing to indicate that an attack on the holiday home of a Jamaican-born chef in Co Limerick was racist, according to gardai.
His holiday home and touring van near Glin were vandalised, with windows broken, fireplaces ripped out and doors and bathroom fittings hacked with an axe or hatchet. Scrawled across the living-room floor in white paint were the words: "Sel, sel".
There were also graffiti about selling on the outside of the van.
Mr George Llewelyn last week flew in from Germany, where he worked as a master chef, to view the damage to his property. The attack also resulted in the theft of two valuable cast-iron stoves imported from Germany.
Investigating gardai said yesterday that the incident occurred sometime in February. They added that there was no evidence at this stage to indicate any racial motive. Two other houses in the locality were slightly damaged at around the same time.
Mr Llewelyn bought his holiday home seven years ago when he was on a trip to Ireland to trace his Irish roots. He has been a regular visitor since. Before returning to Germany this week, he told the Limerick Leader that he was at a loss to understand why the robbers - if robbery was indeed the prime motive - felt the need to destroy his home.
"I don't know what to think," he said. He wondered if the colour of his skin meant somebody did not want him owning a house in the area.
Local people have told him that they were ashamed that such a thing could happen. Mr Llewelyn said he would return as usual to take part as a chef in the Limerick Good Food Festival next month.