‘SOMEBODY COULD HAVE DIED’ IN ARSON ATTACK

TERROR FOR KILLARNEY FAMILY AFTER HOME SET ALIGHT IN ONGOING FEUD

FOUR young children had to escape through the back window of a house in Ballyspillane in Killarney last week after their home was deliberately set alight in the middle of the night.

Michelle O’Brien, her husband and her four children were at home when the petrol was poured on their door and set alight in what is believed to be linked to an ongoing feud between families in Ballyspillane.

The feud, which began almost a year ago at a communion party, has escalated in recent months, and Wednesday night’s attack has been described as a ‘step too far’ by the victims. It caused damage to the home of the O’Briens in Hazelwood in Ballyspillane.

Mother Michelle O’Brien has spoken of her terror.

“I heard a loud bang, and I just ran up the hall and saw the flames engulfing the door. I ran to the bedrooms of my older children and I managed to get them to safety out my bedroom window and they ran for help,” recalls Michelle.

She then got back in the window and grabbed her baby, Lizzy Rae, who is a few weeks short of her second birthday.

Christy (12), Alana (10) and Brandon (7) all ran for their lives as the flames engulfed their home’s front door.

“We are very fortunate that nobody died. Somebody could have been killed or burned badly,” said Michelle.

“This was a step too far. It is very frightening and it could have gone horribly wrong. We don’t feel safe, and the children are afraid to stay here.”

In light of the situation, Michelle is pleading for peace between the families. She claims that she and her family have been subjected to a host of intimidating incidents and have made attempts to resolve the situation between the families, but these have so far been unsuccessful. It is hoped that progress could be made in the in the coming days.

There have been a number of incidents linked to the feud since last year, and local councillor Donal Grady is critical of the authorities including Kerry County Council and the Gardaí, who he feels have not done enough to help ease the situation: “The local authority and the gardaí must do more to help. They have a responsibility,” he said. “I am hoping that there will be improvements on the situation in the near future.”

Gardaí said this week that no arrests have yet been made in the incident but that they are investigating what occurred last Wednesday night.

Photos by Michelle Cooper Galvin Michelle O’Brien showing the scorched exterior of her front door in Ballyspillane, Killarney, following last week’s horrific petrol-bombing incident and, right, the scene outside the family home as the garda investigation got underway.