'Horrific, mindless thuggery' - Monument to families killed in Carrickmines fire vandalised

A monument to the 10 people killed after a fire destroyed their homes in Carrickmines in 2015 has been defaced.

The statue of the Virgin Mary, which belonged to the family when they lived on Glenamuck Road, was broken in several places. The plaque below it was donated by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council last year.

The vandalism was noticed by Labour Party councillor Peter O'Brien, who posted the photos to his Twitter account.

"It's horrific, mindless thuggery," he told Independent.ie.

"Relatives of the family only moved back into the halting site last week. It's been a rough week for them anyway.

"There is a plan in place to get it fixed. The council will work with the family, as they always have."

Five adults and five children perished in the blaze, which took place on On Saturday, 10 October 2015.

Willie Lynch (25) and Tara Gilbert (27) died alongside their daughters Kelsey and Jodie. Tara was four months pregnant.

Thomas Connors (27) and his wife Sylvia (25) and their children Jim (5), Christy (2) and six-month-old Mary also lost their lives in the fire.

A brother of Willie Lynch, Jimmy (39), also died.

The fire began in the kitchen and spread quickly, engulfing the entire unit.

An inquest into the incident found that the victims died of carbon monoxide poisoning.