An investigation is underway by An Garda Síochána after a substantial number of straw bales were allegedly set on fire in Co. Tipperary, shortly after midnight this week, close to a farmer’s home.
Gardaí confirmed that they had attended an incident of “criminal damage” earlier this week at approximately 12:05a.m, in the Boherlahan area of Cashel, Co. Tipperary.
According to Gardaí “no arrests have been made” and investigations are still ongoing.
But the family, whose home was shockingly close to where the bales were set on fire, have spoken to Agriland about the “awful fright” that they experienced when they first set eyes on what they described as a “blaze”.
Farmer and contractor, Sean O’Reilly, said his wife initially “got such a fright” that she thought perhaps a car was on fire outside their family home; it turned out to be straw bales that had been allegedly set alight just 250 yards away.
O’Reilly said his family is still coming to term with the “blaze” that occurred on Wednesday, August 9 and was minutes away from their home.
Straw bales
He told Agriland once they discovered the blaze they immediately rang the gardaí who notified the fire brigade because their first priority was to “get it under control”.
“There are lots of houses around and there was a young family across the road; we wanted to get it put out – we didn’t want it spreading and that was it.
“That evening we had been after taking away three loads of straw, we had chopped some straw into round bales and we had a man coming for a certain amount of them chopped and we had them all in a line for him to take away.
“The next thing was this blaze – and it was a wet night into the bargain,” O’Reilly added.
He said the family are “disgusted” that this incident has happened at this time on their farm.
“We’ve never had this type of thing before in our lifetime – never ever. We live up a laneway and we’ve never had anything like this before, we’ve never had any cameras in our yard but we will do from now on.
“We’re farmers and agricultural contractors but to see the likes of that happening now, it would frighten you – it would actually frighten you. We wouldn’t have a clue who would do the likes of that, we have great neighbours and great customers.
“The fire brigade, who came and were just great, told us that they could see the blaze from Cashel, they didn’t even need an Eircode because they could follow it right into the field, that’s what kind of blaze it was,” O’Reilly said.
He has praised the response of the emergency services on the night and how “seriously” gardaí have taken the incident.
“All that straw is so badly wanted by farmers this year – all the farmers depend on us for straw; we’re back 300 bales on every hundred acres this year.
“It is not about the cost to us, or the loss of it, I don’t want to see emergency services having to come to us for this, it is such a waste,” O’Reilly added.
He has appealed to anyone with any information about the fire to make contact with gardaí.