Brothers suspected of setting couple alight severely burned

FOUR brothers suspected of dousing with petrol and setting alight a couple in Armagh were being treated for severe burns in a Dublin hospital yesterday.

Three of the four brothers were in critical condition in St James Hospital burns unit last night after being transferred from Louth County Hospital. They presented themselves to doctors originally on Monday night, an hour after the Armagh fire.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said it was standard practice, given the intensity of the fire, for officers to check hospitals for people who had been admitted with burns.

Lisa McClatchey and her partner, Thomas O’Hare, were doused in petrol and set alight at their home near the south Armagh border village of Keady on Monday night.

Ms McClatchey is critically ill in hospital after fleeing the house in flames, while Mr O’Hare was pulled from the burning wreckage by neighbours. His condition is serious but stable.

Mr O’Hare is understood to have separated from his wife, the mother of his two children aged under 12, three years ago. His girlfriend, Miss McClatchey, is the granddaughter through marriage of the late Harold Gracey, the Orange Order leader at the centre of the Drumcree marching protest in Portadown, Co Armagh

Up to six men were seen entering the home before the attack.

The four brothers, believed to be construction workers, are not expected to be questioned for weeks due to the severity of their burns. The four, aged 24 to 34, are believed to be originally from Markethill, Co Armagh. Two now have addresses in Balbriggan and Dundalk, according to gardaí, while the others still live across the border.

Police from the North investigating the horrific attack have ruled out a sectarian or racist motive. A domestic dispute and/or a feud over land were being investigated last night.

Gardaí say it is unlikely the men drove themselves to hospital and are still seeking up to two other men.

Garda detectives were waiting yesterday for an official request by the PSNI to question the men. The officer in charge of the PSNI investigation, Detective Chief Inspector David McConville, said that burning was an unusual and vicious crime.