Youth intended target of fire bomb

A 15-YEAR-OLD youth was the intended target in an horrific fire bomb attack which has left two children fighting for their lives.

Four-year-old Katelyn Ryan and her one-year-old baby sister Leah were seriously injured after a petrol bomb was thrown into their home in Lenihan Avenue in Limerick city last Sunday morning.

The children’s mother, Jackie Ryan, 32, was last night in a critical but stable condition at Cork University Hospital following Sunday’s horrific attack.

Six other people, including the children’s father Robert, were fortunate to escape serious injury in the blaze.

Last night, it emerged that a 15-year-old youth was the intended target. The teenager may be linked to recent criminal activity in the area, including a shooting last weekend in the nearby Garryglass Avenue.

“This person has been involved in a lot of anti-social behaviour in the area and is totally out of control,” said a garda source. Limerick’s Chief Supt Gerry Kelly confirmed that Sunday morning’s arson attack is not linked to a bitter feud on the opposite side of the city which led to the murder of Kieran Keane last January. “We are satisfied that there was some local agitation at a very low level but not anything to trigger any type of feud,” said Chief Supt Kelly.

Meanwhile, as relatives of the Ryan family learned of little Katelyn’s horrific life-threatening injuries it has emerged that her grandfather Jim Roche fractured his leg in a desperate bid to rescue his young grandchildren.

“Jackie was trapped upstairs with little Leah,” said the 63-year-old.

“She jumped out of a top window holding the child and fell into the front garden. There were flames shooting out the window at the time,” he said. His wife Nora was at her daughter Jackie’s bedside in Cork, also waiting for news of her grandchildren.

Before leaving, the devastated grandmother said she feared the worst for Katelyn, who remained in a critical condition last night in Crumlin Children’s Hospital. “The news is not going to be good for Katelyn. Even if she does survive she’s not going to be a normal child anymore. She’s not going to have hands and she’s not going to be able to see,” said Mrs Roche.

Earlier yesterday morning, Mrs Roche had been at the bedside of one-year-old Leah, who is in the intensive care unit at Limerick Regional Hospital.

“They don’t know if she’ll be able to breathe on her own when they take her off the machine,” she said.

Meanwhile, three men in their early 20s arrested on Sunday in connection with the arson attack were still in garda custody last night.

The three were being held last night under Section 30 of the Offences Against The State Act.

A woman was also arrested yesterday morning, but was later released without charge.