GARDAÍ AT TALLAGHT have issued a fresh appeal for information about the death of a 12-year-old boy in a fire in 2001.

The fatal fire, which occurred exactly 10 years ago tonight, claimed the life of Stephen Hughes-Connors. It is believed the fire was started deliberately.

On the night of the incident, Stephen and a 14-year-old friend were sleeping in a makeshift hut made out of pallets, doors and carpet. Gardaí say that the “hut” was set ablaze sometime before 5am.

The crime was featured in a 2003 Crimeline programme and then re-examined by the Serious Crime Review Team. They made an arrest in April 2006 and a file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions but the 51-year-old suspect was not prosecuted.

The Irish Independent reported that a witness withdrew his statement because he was threatened by the suspect.

The newspaper said that Stephen and his friend were camping out a short distance from the suspect’s home. CCTV camera footage shows a petrol bomb exploding in the hut, according to the 2008 report.

Commenting on the 10th anniversary of the fire, Liz Hughes remains devastated by her son’s death.

She has pleaded with “anyone who knows what happened that night to contact the Guards,” adding that it would be comfort to know what happened “even after all these years.”

Superintendent Eamon Dolan of Tallaght is “confident that there are people out there who know what happened that night or who may have been confided in afterwards.”

Gardaí can be contacted at Tallaght on 01-666-6000 or on the Garda Confidential Line on 1-800-666-111.