{"id":654973,"date":"2026-10-15T00:14:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T00:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/654973\/"},"modified":"2026-10-15T00:14:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T00:14:12","slug":"perpetrators-of-waterford-arson-attack-asked-to-hand-themselves-in-as-vigil-held-for-victims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/654973\/","title":{"rendered":"Perpetrators of Waterford arson attack asked to hand themselves in, as vigil held for victims"},"content":{"rendered":"

PINK AND BLUE balloons were released into the sky outside the home of the English family, where members of their community hugged and wiped tears as they absorbed the finality of their loss.<\/p>\n

Anne English, the ex-wife of the late Philip English, was among those gathered in the Birchwood estate.<\/p>\n

She said that she had 10 children with Philip before their breakup. The former couple were lucky to have had such an amicable relationship.<\/p>\n

Anne emphasised that she was \u201cbest friends\u201d with Philip and Kim.<\/p>\n

She admitted she was \u201cin disbelief\u201d that anyone would knowingly harm the \u201cvery well liked\u201d family.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were one big happy family. We were very close. Their kids were their life.<\/p>\n

People should come forward if anyone knows anything. It is a devastating loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"philip-englishs-ex-wife-speaks-ahead-of-a-balloon-release-ceremony-to-commemorate-the-lives-lost-in-a-house-fire-in-birchwood-waterford-multiple-properties-have-been-searched-as-part-of-a-continue\"
\n Anne English, the ex-wife of the late Philip English, speaking to the media Alamy<\/p>\n

Alamy\n<\/p>\n

Anne hadn\u2019t spoken to the couple very much in recent weeks. She said Kim and Philip were kept busy at the children\u2019s hospital in Crumlin as their son Jayden was undergoing heart surgery.<\/p>\n

Poignantly, two of their children are still fighting for their lives at the very same hospital.<\/p>\n

Family friend Amanda Powney said Philip and Kim had \u201cgone through hell\u201d over the last few years and were trying to get a transfer out of their park amid concern for their safety.<\/p>\n

When Powney heard that there was a fire in Waterford, she instantly knew that the English family had been targeted.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew because of the previous attack on the car. The guards knew long ago (what was going on).<\/p>\n

\u201c(The perpetrators) deserve to be locked up and never let out again. I hope they rot in hell.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"people-gather-ahead-of-a-balloon-release-ceremony-to-commemorate-the-lives-lost-in-a-house-fire-in-birchwood-waterford-multiple-properties-have-been-searched-as-part-of-a-continued-garda-investigat\"
\n People gather ahead of a balloon release ceremony to commemorate the lives lost in the house fire Alamy<\/p>\n

Alamy\n<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, four candles \u2013 two big and two small \u2013 were placed in front of a family picture at a table in the Sacred Heart church.<\/p>\n

Parish priest Fr Gerry Chestnutt told the several hundred people gathered for the 5pm vigil that the couple had gone to bed expecting to bring their children to school the following day.<\/p>\n

He stated an \u201cinnocent family\u201d had been robbed of their lives in a horrific manner.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened yesterday should never, ever have happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to say that even though they are not here the persons responsible need to have the courage to stand up, admit what you did and face the consequences of what you did.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you know anything whatsoever about what happened please contact An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na.<\/p>\n

\u201cMembers of the congregation laughed as the priest spoke about Philip being \u2018a great man for a chat\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"people-attended-a-vigil-at-sacred-heart-church-in-waterford-suspected-arson-attack-at-a-house-in-birchwood-waterford-which-claimed-the-lives-of-two-adults-and-two-children-the-victims-have-been-nam\"
\n The Sacred Heart Church was packed with people Alamy<\/p>\n

Alamy\n<\/p>\n

Fr Chestnutt said you would need time to spare if you bumped into him at the shop. He emphasised that everything the couple did was for their children.<\/p>\n

Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan offered prayers for the two English children who remain in critical condition in hospital.<\/p>\n

He also paid tribute to the \u201cheroic neighbours\u201dat the scene whilst also praising the emergency services for their professionalism.<\/p>\n

The Sacred Heart Church has extended its opening hours over the coming days to give members of the community additional time to pray.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PINK AND BLUE balloons were released into the sky outside the home of the English family, where members…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":654974,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[45,24697,1115,277423,61,60,43,201409,6513],"class_list":["post-654973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-an-garda-siochana","tag-arson","tag-crime","tag-english-family","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-vigil","tag-waterford"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=654973"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654973\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/654974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=654973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=654973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=654973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}