Prisoner arrested behind bars on suspicion of Tadgh Farrell Edenderry firebomb double-murder
A prisoner has been arrested on suspicion of the double murder of a four year old boy and his grand aunt in Edenderry, Co Offaly.The man, who is in his 20s, was arrested in an Irish prison via a warrant on suspicion of murder this morning and is being held at a Garda station in the midlands. Mary Holt (60) and little Tadhg Farrell (4) died when thugs fire bombed a house in Edenderry, Co Offaly on the evening of Saturday, December 6.Now the suspect, who is behind bars is being detained on suspicion of orchestrating the murder which saw two young men carry out the firebomb attack at around 7pm that evening. It is suspected the prisoner contacted his criminal associates on the outside and ordered the firebomb attack that claimed the lives of young Tadhg and Ms Holt.In a press release gardai said: "An Garda Síochána continues to investigate all the circumstances of a fatal house fire that occurred at a domestic residence in Castleview Park, Edenderry, Co. Offaly on the evening of Saturday 6th December, 2025. As part of this investigation, a man in his late 20s was arrested this morning, 14th January 2026."He is currently detained on suspicion of murder under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, at a Garda station in the midlands. Investigations are ongoing."The murder investigation is being led from an incident room at Tullamore Garda Station under the direction of a Senior Investigating Officer. The massive garda investigation, which has also seen arrests in a prison in relation to a suspected linked assault, involves the Serious Crime Unit Laois/Offaly Garda Division, the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI), the Garda Síochána Analysis Service and other National Units.It comes as this paper previously revealed that officers carried out searches of properties connected to a well known local criminal and a 15 year old teenager, who is suspected to be one of those who carried out the firebomb attack. The property connected to the criminal was searched - as officers investigate whether he ordered young thugs to set the house on fire - after an associate of his was assaulted in prison the day before the murders.The local criminal has a history in relation to armed burglary and false imprisonment, and is well known to gardai. He is suspected of speaking to a prisoner who was attacked behind bars by another prisoner - sparking a plan to launch a revenge attack.Gardai suspect that the scorned prisoner contacted his criminal associate to plot the firebomb attack after the other lag, who is known to the deceased, attacked him in the Midlands Prison. The incident saw investigating gardai notified - and the assaulted prisoner was moved to the country's maximum security prison next door - Portlaoise Prison.A wider drugs dispute in the area is something gardai suspect may also have led to the physical row taking place behind bars, but sources have stressed that although there is progress, the investigation is still in its infancy. Gardai also moved to arrest five men in the Midlands Prison in connection with the assault incident - including the main instigator.The main instigator remains in the Midlands Prison, while the lag he attacked is being isolated in Portlaoise. Gardai had been searching for a possible phone that he could have used to contact the local criminal on the outside - and order the attack that caused the deaths of the innocent nursing home worker and little Tadhg.The arrests occurred just ahead of young Tadhg's funeral, which took place in front of hundreds of mourners. Gardai previously described the attack as a "reckless, callous and murderous attack on a family home."The investigation team can be contacted at the incident room at Tullamore Garda Station on 057 932 7600, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station, in particular Edenderry Garda Station.Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
