Woman fights for life after vigilantes set her alight

A young woman was fighting for her life tonight after she and her boyfriend were set on fire by self-styled vigilantes.

Their home near Keady, Co Armagh, was badly damaged after six masked men burst in and doused the pair with flammable liquid.

Lisa McClatchey, 21, is critically ill in hospital with severe burns after fleeing the house in flames.

Her partner Thomas O’Hare, 33, had to be pulled clear by horrified neighbours.

One said later: “I ran up and he was being carried out of the house, he was in a bad way. The whole of his body appeared to be burned.

“He was in pure pain, in a really bad way. She raised the alarm, she ran to a neighbour’s house while she was on fire and they put the flames out.”

Police have ruled out a sectarian or racist motive, but are following a definite line of inquiry and said some sort of paramilitary involvement was a possibility.

The attack happened at around 9pm last night close to a primary school between Markethill and Keady.

Unemployed Mr O’Hare had lived on Foley Road for some time. The house is in an isolated area on a narrow lane. He is understood to have separated from his wife, the mother of his two children aged under 12, three years ago.

Mr O’Hare is stable in hospital but his partner is critically ill.

Another neighbour said: “I am here 50 years and I have never seen anything like it, to tell the truth.

“The house was just engulfed in flames, the whole roof was falling down.

“I heard a bang and looked out the window. The ambulance and police came as well as the fire brigade. It went on until the middle of the night.”

Detective Chief Inspector David McConville, the officer in charge of the police investigation, said it was an unusual and vicious crime.

He added: “As part of our investigation, we will be investigating the victims and the background – all those aspects.”

Police have not ruled out paramilitary involvement or vigilante justice and they said they were keeping an open mind.

“It has to be said that no one has the right to act as judge and jury, if that was the motive, and certainly we would call on the public to help us identify these people,” Mr McConville said.

“There are six vicious men out there who have attacked two vulnerable people in the sanctity of their own home.”

SDLP councillor Sharon Haughey condemned the perpetrators.

“Whatever reason those responsible tried to use as a justification for this attack, we must be very clear that no one has the right to act as judge, jury and prosecutor by taking the law into their own hands.

“There’s little or no support for vigilante courts.”