A man has been found dead following a fire at the same house where a boy and his great-aunt died in a previous arson attack.
Irish national police said they are investigating ‘all the circumstances’ of the fire at Castleview Park in Edenderry, County Offaly, which occurred just three months after a fatal blaze at the same property.
Emergency services attended the fire in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
An Garda Siochana said in a statement: ‘The body of an adult person has been discovered inside the premises.
‘A post-mortem will be conducted to determine the cause of death, which will determine the course of any Garda investigation.’
The scene was preserved for forensic examination and gardai are appealing for anyone with information to come forwards.
A post-mortem examination is expected to take place at Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore on Wednesday.
In December 2025, four-year-old Tadhg Farrell and his great-aunt Mary Holt were murdered after a fire was deliberately started at the property.
A man has been found dead following a fire at the same house where a boy and his great-aunt died in an previous arson attack
Irish national police said they are investigating ‘all the circumstances’ of the fire which occurred just three months after a fatal blaze at the same property
Tadhg Farrell, four, and his great-aunt Mary Holt were killed during an arson attack on the property in December 2025 – three months before the latest blaze at the house
Sixty-year-old Mary also died in the blaze at the family home in December
The young boy’s grandmother also received hospital treatment for serious burn injuries in that blaze.
A man in his late 20s detained on suspicion of murder was released without charge in January.
Speaking at the scene of the fire on Tuesday, local councillor Fergus McDonnell said neighbours were alerted by their smoke alarms going off.
He said the fire was ‘intense’ and described what happened as ‘horrendous’, adding that the local community ‘can’t comprehend’ a second fatal fire has happened at the same house.
‘People just don’t know what to think,’ he said.
On Tuesday afternoon, Gardai were carrying out door-to-door inquiries and fingertip searches in the nearby area.
