Two children were fighting for their lives late yesterday after a fire bomb attack on a house in Limerick on Sunday.
Katelyn Ryan (4) and her sister, Leah (1), were seriously injured after a petrol bomb was thrown into their home in Lenihan Avenue, Limerick, on Sunday morning.
The children's mother, Ms Jackie Ryan (32), was last night in a critical but stable condition at Cork University Hospital.
Six other people, including the children's father, Robert, escaped serious injury in the blaze.
As relatives of the Ryan family learned of Katelyn's life-threatening injuries, it emerged that her grandfather, Mr Jim Roche (63), fractured his leg while trying to rescue his grandchildren from the fire.
Mr Roche, who lives two doors away from the scene of the blaze, was unable to travel to see his daughter and grandchildren yesterday.
His wife, Nora, was at Ms Ryan's beside in Cork.
She said she feared the worst for Katelyn, who remained in a critical condition last night in Crumlin Children's Hospital, Dublin.
"The news is not going to be good for Katelyn. Even if she does survive she's not going to be a normal child any more. She's not going to have hands and she's not going to be able to see," said Ms Roche.
Earlier yesterday morning, Ms Roche was at the bedside of Leah, in the intensive care unit at Limerick Regional Hospital.
"They don't know if she'll be able to breathe on her own when they take her off the machine," she said.
Sunday's attack has not only shocked family and friends of the Ryan family, but also veteran detectives who have been offered support from the Garda Welfare Officer.
"Everybody involved in this investigation has been shocked by the absolute ferocity and the outrageousness of it," said Chief Supt Gerry Kelly.
"There are some very seasoned and hardened detectives working on this case and they are absolutely shattered. Indeed we are bringing in our own welfare officer to meet our own people and we are trying to arrange victim support for the family as well," he added.
Meanwhile, three men in their early 20s arrested on Sunday in connection with the attack were still in Garda custody last night. All three were being held under Section 30 of the Offences Against The State Act.
A woman was also arrested yesterday morning but was later released without charge.