‘Stand up, and admit what you did’
Family and friends leave flowers with the Gardaí at Birchwood estate. Photo: Joe Evans
Every available resource has been provided to Gardaí and the National Bureau for Criminal Investigation, as they continue the large-scale murder investigation into the killing of the English family.
The Garda response was almost immediate, with an incident room set up at Waterford Garda Station and a senior investigator appointed just hours after what is being described as the deliberate killing of the family.
Since 2023, the English family home had been subjected to various attacks, including as recently as September this year when their car was petrol-bombed.
The family had been trying to relocate to another home for their own safety, several councillors have confirmed.
The killings have sent shockwaves across Ireland and beyond, with many asking how this could happen against an innocent family.
The circumstances of the deaths will undoubtedly become clear as the Gardaí ramp up their investigations.
On Tuesday evening, gardaí began carrying out raids on properties in Waterford, seizing laptops, phones and vehicles for technical examination.
During a press conference at Waterford Garda Station on Wednesday, Chief Superintendent Anthony Pettit issued an appeal for information.
At time of publication, is it understood that the number of raids has reached at least seven.
More arrests are coming, gardaí have said.
The latest update from Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly confirms that “significant progress” has been made in the investigation over the past week.
Hourly briefings are being provided to the Commissioner from Waterford.
Commissioner Kelly said he is "quite satisfied" with the direction of the investigation, and that "every resource" is being provided to ensure that those responsible are apprehended.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin confirmed same, saying that Gardaí have been provided with all possible means to target suspects.
At the vigil for the English family last week at the Sacred Heart Church, The Folly, Parish Priest Fr Gerry Chestnutt called on those behind the attack to reveal themselves, saying that there has been a feeling of “righteous anger” across the community.
“I want to say, even though they’re not here, the persons responsible need to have the courage to stand up and admit what you did and face the consequences of what you did,” he said.
Over the past number of years, organised crime gangs in Waterford have used ‘drug debts’ to extort, blackmail and force people to commit crimes on their behalf.
In 2023, Detective Inspector Donal Donohoe addressed a meeting in Waterford City Hall about the rise of drug-related intimidation.
He said: “We are seeing in the last number of years, where one person owes a drug debt, it has an impact on the extended family, and this is a relatively new feature of the drug scene.
“The type of intimidation ranges from threats, violence, criminal damage, assault, sexual violence, and hostile takeovers.
“A whole family can be affected by one person owing the money.”
In the three years since Det. Donohoe’s address, Waterford has now seen the extent of the violence brought by these criminal gangs.
In the courts locally, drug debt-related incidents have been prevalent. In recent times, multiple unrelated incidents of drug intimidation in Waterford have been reported on by this newspaper.
The issue is not specific to Waterford, and Defence Minister Helen McEntee said last week that the “scourge” of drug-related intimidation is impacting communities nationally.
In Dáil Éireann, two days after the Birchwood attack, Deputy David Cullinane condemned the Waterford attack.
“Other families are now looking out their front doors and wondering, ‘Could our children be next?
“No family should have to put their children to bed wondering whether someone will set fire to their home before morning.
“Anyone who planned, ordered or carried out this attack must face the full force of the law. The Gardaí must establish the facts, but drug-related intimidation must also be confronted head-on.”
