GARDAÍ HAVE ARRESTED a man in connection with the double murder of Mary Holt and Tadhg Farrell in Edenderry.

The 4-year-old boy and his 60-year-old great-aunt were killed in a house fire caused by a petrol bomb.

The incident occurred at 7.45 pm in Castleview Park, Edenderry, Co Offaly, on 6 December.

In a statement, a garda spokesperson confirmed that officers arrested a man in his 20s this morning.

He is currently detained on suspicion of murder under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at a garda station in the midlands.

The murder investigation into the deaths of Mary and Tadhg continues.

A man who is a prisoner in the Midlands Prison had been arrested during the investigation, but he was since released without charge. A number of other prisoners have also been questioned by gardaí.

Community response

Hundreds of people gathered in Edenderry at the Derry Rovers pitch grounds to pay tribute to Tadhg and Mary the week after the December attack.

People left lights, flowers and messages outside the house where the incident occurred, not far from the pitch. On one white balloon someone wrote with marker: “He was only 4. RIP Tadhg”. 

At Tadhg’s funeral last month, he was remembered as a “beautiful young boy” that was “full of life” and who had been “taken away that makes no sense”.

His mother wrote a message that was read out by the priest.

“You had a smile that could light any room, a laugh that made even the heaviest days feel lighter, and a spirit so bright that everyone who met you felt it,” she said.

At Mary’s funeral, her colleagues dressed in scrubs as they formed a guard of honour outside the church. Mary had worked as a carer at Ofalia House, a care home in Offaly.

“You don’t become a carer unless you have patience, compassion, and a generous heart,” Father Greg Corcoran told mourners.

“Day after day, year after year, Mary showed up for others when they were most in need.”

He said there are very few people locally who “haven’t experienced the love, the care, and attention of the staff of Ofalia House”.