Fourth arrest over fire at Co Louth paper factory

A fourth person has been arrested in connection with a fire that destroyed a paper factory in Drogheda, Co Louth on Saturday night.

Gardaí responded to an alert about intruders being on the Dawn Paper & Tissue Manufacturing premises at the Donore Road Industrial Estate at about 9.30pm on Saturday. When they arrived, they saw a number of people running from the scene of the fire.

A teenager was arrested in the Drogheda area on Monday. He is being held under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 at Dundalk Garda Station.

Three teenagers arrested on Sunday were released last night.

Dawn Paper & Tissue Manufacturing, which is run by the McEnteggart family from Duleek in Co Meath, employs 22 people. It manufactures domestic tissue and supplies the industrial cleaning paper industry.

The company has been based at the industrial estate in Drogheda for 20 years and family members and employees visited the burnt out shell of the plant on Sunday morning.

“We have been through some difficult times in the past and we will overcome this unfortunate incident. We have no further comment at this time,” Shane McEnteggart said in a statement afterwards.

Garda Superintendent Gerry Smith of Drogheda Garda Station said officers are following a definite line of enquiry. "We are grateful that there was no loss of life or serious injuries."

At its peak, the fire service had 12 appliances in attendance, including three hydraulic platforms, a water tanker and a control vehicle. The crews came from Dundalk, Drogheda, Ardee and Dunleer.