Firebomb family: Gardaí didn’t do enough for Helena

THE family of the 25-year-old woman and her five-year-old nephew who died when their house was firebombed at the weekend have accused gardaí of “not doing enough” to hunt down the man who sent their daughter threatening letters and abusive texts.

The family yesterday revealed how two weeks before last Sunday’s attack, a man entered Helena O’Dwyer’s house at St Michael’s Place in Mahon and verbally and physically abused her.

The single mother fled to her parents’ nearby house soon afterwards as she said she feared for her life in her own house.

One text she received at 5.50am stated: “There is a bullet waiting for you. We know where you are. Mahon is a small place. RIP.”

Another letter shoved into her letter box warned that her house would be firebombed. This letter was shown to gardaí by her father, Joe.

“If something had been done after that letter, Helena would be alive today,” Joe O’Dwyer told 96FM. “Since the letter was sent, Helena spent most of her time at Nutley Avenue. We didn’t think we were at risk.”

However, the family said a man was seen “up at the back of the house” recently and they suspect he was planning his getaway.

A 22-year-old man, from the area and known to the family, was arrested at the weekend on suspicion of arson but released without charge on Monday.

It’s understood that tensions are so high in the Cork city suburb that he and his family have fled the area and are now in hiding.

Meanwhile, gardaí are continuing to appeal to locals to come forward if they saw anything vaguely suspicious around the O’Dwyer house last Saturday night/Sunday morning. Detectives have retrieved CCTV footage from nearby businesses.

The O’Dwyer family are staying at a hotel in Co Cork but it’s likely they will look to be rehoused after the funerals.