Family “lost everything” in Finglas arson attack
Olivia Kelleher
A 23-year-old student whose family survived an arson attack at their home in Finglas in Dublin on New Year’s Eve has said that the incident has rendered them homeless.
Amanda Uwase, who is undertaking an MA at DCU, told RTÉ News that she was in the sitting room of her home on Creston Avenue watching television with a younger sibling when they heard a loud noise from the kitchen.
Ms Uwase said when they rushed into the kitchen, they immediately noticed that an object resembling a petrol bomb had been thrown in the window.
“I went up the stairs to the second floor, and I found that all my siblings are in my room. And so we jump out of that window and we managed to land where my neighbours had put a mattress for us to land on.
And then my mother (who had come from her 12 hour shift as a carer) was still in the house on the third floor. The fire brigade managed to rescue her moments later.
She suffered the most. She has been in ICU for a week. She has just been released in to a ward in a lot of pain and on a lot of medication.”
Amanda said the family home was completely destroyed in the incident.
“It is horrible. The kitchen is gone, sitting room is gone.
"Gardaí believe that the house was attacked in a case of mistaken identity. It is horrendous. I sat on the stairs and I coudn’t imagine that a week ago I sat in this house and it was fine and now it is totally destroyed.
I"n terms of impact first of all we don’t have a room. We are currently in emergency accommodation. Financially, my Dad is having to use all his savings to buy us food every single day. Takeaways because we are not able to cook.
"Emotionally, we are all traumatised. Everything is completely gone. We are very much peaceful people. We try and help people. We try our best to mind our business. So I don’t know why this happened to us.”
In addition to losing their home, the family have been left without their clothes and shoes, which were completely destroyed in the attack.
Amanda said that they are “devout Christians” and that they have never been in trouble in their lives.
On a fundraiser for the family on chuffed.org Amanda describes herself as the eldest daughter in a family of eight. She says that they now have no fixed home.
“The government has put us in emergency accommodation, which is not suitable long-term for my younger siblings when going to school and college.
"Our mother worked as a carer but will now be unable to work for the foreseeable future. So, we've set up this campaign to compensate for the loss in income while we get back on our feet.”
Donations can be made to the fund at https://chuffed.org/pay/campaign/164105
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact Finglas Garda Station on 01 666 7500, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any garda station. Investigations are ongoing in to the attack which occurred at 11pm on December 31st, 2025.
