Widow fears for her life after petrol bomb attacks

A WIDOW in Limerick city, who has suffered a series of petrol-bomb attacks on her home, believes her life is under threat since her husband passed away.

Bridget Cauley, 55, has now had three petrol bombs thrown at her house off Clare Street, including two last Saturday.

Gardaí at Henry Street confirmed the matter is under investigation and they are keeping an open mind.

Minor smoke damage was caused to the exterior of the property, but Ms Cauley said the situation could have been far more serious.

Both she, her daughter Winifred and six-month old grandson, Tommy, share one bedroom downstairs due to widespread damp in the house.

None of the family were in the house at the time of the attack, luckily, as the child’s cot is underneath the window that was targeted. “There are three of us sleeping in one room, just underneath the front window.

“I can’t take any more of this. Will it be bullets the next time? All we’re looking for is a small house where we can live in peace. We’re not asking for much.”

Instead, the widow said the council and the gardaí “are just trying to sweep me under the carpet… It’s just a nightmare. I would be safer in Iraq, to tell you the truth. There have been some people taunting us in the streets; I don’t know why they’re doing it.”

When asked who could be behind the attacks, the mother of seven was at a loss to identify the culprits. “I don’t know who they are.”

She said she had returned to her home of nine years on Mona Terrace last Saturday night after visiting her 83-year-old mother in hospital to find a petrol bomb thrown at the front window. Another glass bottle was fired at her caravan by the side of the house, but a neighbour quenched the blaze with water.

However, shards of glass still litter the scene, which was examined by detectives at Henry Street station earlier this week.

Ms Cauley fears that she has been victimised since her husband, William, died nearly two years ago.

But she said her horrific living conditions do not end there — there is currently no running water in the house, and the toilet doesn’t flush. Furthermore, she said she can’t afford to heat the house as she is relying on a widow’s pension of €196.

A spokesperson for Limerick City Council said they could not comment on the possibility of rehousing the family due to the confidential nature of housing cases.