Garda attacked at Blackrock blaze

GARDAI are investigating an incident in which a vacant house was set on fire at the Rock Road, Blackrock and fireworks were thrown at a Garda on Halloween.

The two-storey house was gutted by the blaze which broke out around 7.30pm. Three fire appliances, two from Dundalk and one from Ardee, tackled the fire which spread into the upper floor and roof of the house which stands back from the road.

Gardai responded to a request from the fire service to attend at the scene and a number of fireworks were thrown in the direction of a Garda, with one exploding within inches of her.

The Garda Representative Association in Louth, Gda Derek O’Donoghues condemned the attacks on Garda and also another incident in Drogheda, in which a firework was thrown at a patrol car in Moneymore, Drogheda.

‘It is terrible that Gardai trying to protect the public on one of the busiest and most dangerous nights of the year are threatened, intimidated and potentially injured,’ he said. ‘Certain people consider this behaviour acceptable, which it is not.’

The Fire Service were also called to the Long Walk after a number of bins had been set alight and a 16-year-old girl suffered injuries and was taken to hospital after a fire at a derelict house in Dundalk at around 1am.

In a separate incident, an English flag which had been erected alongside a South Africa flag at Blackrock promenade ahead of Saturday’s Rugby World Cup final was ripped from the flagpole and destroyed . The flagpole itself was also broken,

Commenting on social media, Blackrock Tidy Towns explained: ‘We’ve been flying the flags of finalists in the football and rugby world cup for many years on the promenade.

‘We really didn’t expect that one would cause so much offence.’