Laois an Uisce is that quintessential, White O'Morn dream of a thatched cottage quietly presiding over a magnificent ocean view about 5km from the sterling silver beaches of Ardmore, on the borders of counties Cork and Waterford.

Two young boys saw their father repeatedly slashed across the face with a carpet knife in an unprovoked assault at a daylight “ambush” at a graveyard in Ennis two years ago.