{"id":158033,"date":"2025-11-02T01:44:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-02T01:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/158033\/"},"modified":"2025-11-02T01:44:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-02T01:44:08","slug":"ipas-centre-fire-was-arson-attack-say-gardai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/158033\/","title":{"rendered":"IPAS centre fire was arson attack, say garda\u00ed"},"content":{"rendered":"

A fire at a building accommodating people applying for international protection has been confirmed as arson.<\/p>\n

A number of people had to be rescued from the building in Drogheda, Co Louth, on Friday night.<\/p>\n

It has been reported the people rescued included four children, one of whom was a baby.<\/p>\n

They were rescued from the top floor of the International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) centre following the blaze which was reported at about 8pm.<\/p>\n

\"IpasThe International Protection Accommodation Services centre in Drogheda, Co Louth, after the building was attacked (Brian Lawless\/PA)<\/p>\n

Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin said he condemned, \u201cin the strongest terms\u201d, the \u201cdeeply disturbing incident\u201d while Justice Minister Jim O\u2019Callaghan warned of \u201cserious consequences\u201d.<\/p>\n

On Saturday evening, garda\u00ed confirmed they were investigating the incident as an arson attack.<\/p>\n

Emergency services were first alerted to the blaze at the property on Georges Street at about 8.15pm.<\/p>\n

\u201cFollowing initial reports of the fire being started by the discharge of fireworks, investigations by An Garda Siochana to date indicate that the fire was started deliberately by person or persons unknown,\u201d a Garda spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\"IrishJustice Minister Jim O\u2019Callaghan (Brian Lawless\/PA)<\/p>\n

\u201cAn Garda Siochana has commenced an investigation into the attempted arson of this residential property.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was an extremely dangerous act endangering the lives of the residents, including children, who were in their home at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe occupants of the property were safely evacuated and a number were taken to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital for medical assessment.<\/p>\n

\u201cA senior investigating officer (SIO) has been appointed to lead the investigation from the incident room at Drogheda Garda Station.<\/p>\n

\n Families, children, and babies who have fled war and persecution targeted as they tried to rebuild their lives in safety. If not for the Fire Service, this could have been even more serious<\/p>\n

Nick Henderson, Irish Refugee Council\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cGardai are renewing their appeal for any person with any information on this serious incident to come forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone in the Georges Street area of Drogheda between 7.30pm and 8.20pm, yesterday Friday October 31 2025, or any person with information on this incident, is asked to contact Drogheda Garda Station on 041 9874200 or any Garda Station.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier, Mr O\u2019Callaghan\u00a0condemned a \u201cterrifying ordeal for women and children living there\u201d, adding some were taken to hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cI condemn the criminal attack on a building accommodating people applying for international protection in Drogheda last night,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a terrifying ordeal for the women and children living there, a number of whom were taken to hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr O\u2019Callaghan said alternative accommodation is now being sourced for the residents affected.<\/p>\n

\u201cA full Garda investigation into this arson attack is under way. There will be serious consequences for those responsible,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Nick Henderson, chief executive of the Irish Refugee Council<\/a>, said it was an \u201cappalling incident\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Irish Refugee Council condemns in the strongest possible terms the horrific arson attack on people seeking protection,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFamilies, children, and babies who have fled war and persecution targeted as they tried to rebuild their lives in safety. If not for the Fire Service, this could have been even more serious.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose responsible are a tiny minority and do not reflect the proud and welcoming spirit and people of the Drogheda community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis appalling incident is another salient reminder of the need for strong leadership \u2013 both locally and nationally \u2013 to stand against hatred and uphold compassion and\u00a0solidarity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sinn F\u00e9in TD Matt Carthy has said that those responsible must be held to account.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe appalling arson attack on the International Protection Centre in Drogheda could have easily resulted in death and serious injuries,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere can be no excuse for such action and those involved must be held to account.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was clearly a very frightening ordeal for those impacted. I want to commend the Fire Service for rescuing people, including small children, from this fire and preventing lives from being lost.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Garda\u00ed must now be allowed to do their job and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A fire at a building accommodating people applying for international protection has been confirmed as arson. A number…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":158034,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[9,10,18,13,14,6,19,17,11,12,15,16,5,7,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-158033","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-featured-news","12":"tag-featurednews","13":"tag-headlines","14":"tag-ie","15":"tag-ireland","16":"tag-latest-news","17":"tag-latestnews","18":"tag-main-news","19":"tag-mainnews","20":"tag-news","21":"tag-top-stories","22":"tag-topstories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115477575402559455","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/158034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}