Family butcher hit by second arson attack

Gardaí are investigating a possible connection between two arson attacks on a family business.

The residence and butcher business of Hector and Mona Cassley, in Quin, Co Clare, has also been burgled twice in the past year.

Gardaí confirmed they are looking at a likely link between various incidents that occurred since last June.

The family, who moved to Clare from Co Antrim more than 20 years ago, suffered a tragedy two years ago when their only son, James, an investment banker in London, died in a plane crash in the Congo.

The residence and butcher business was set alight in an early morning arson attack yesterday.

Gardaí and the fire service were alerted around 4am.

On arrival, fire crews discovered one room alight but detected a strong smell of petrol all over the first floor.

Firefighters brought the fire under control and prevented it from spreading to the rest of the building. The rear of the premises was extensively damage, while the entire building was also affected by smoke.

It is understood that intruders doused several rooms of the family home with petrol and set fire to the building. However, the blaze was confined to one room and failed to spread to the rest of the premises.

In a previous similar attack, the building was also drenched in petrol but failed to ignite.

The home was also burgled on two previous occasions in the past year. On each occasion, as with yesterday’s incident, the Cassleys were away at the time.

Gardaí sealed off the entire building for a technical examination.

The Cassleys set up their Quin Meats butcher business in the 1980s.

One Quin local said yesterday: “We are absolutely gutted for the Cassleys. We can’t believe it after all they’ve been through.”

Another local and customer of the Cassleys said: “This isn’t the first time, you know. The last time they tried it, it didn’t catch fire at all but somebody is definitely watching the place. It’s sickening.”

A garda spokesman said: “We are investigating this latest incident and we are looking at a possible connection between four incidents at the same premises in the last year. We would ask anyone who was in Quin early on Monday morning to come forward if they saw anything suspicious.”

Gardaí at Ennis can be contacted at 065 6848100.