Gardai have made another arrest inside the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise in relation to an alleged assault earlier this month.
Last week, Gardai arrested four people in connection with the same incident but they were all released without charge.
It is understood that these arrests, and this latest one, link back to the tragic incident in Edenderry on December 6.
The alleged assault in the Midlands Prison took place hours before the firebomb attack that killed four-year-old Tadgh Farrell and his grand-aunt Mary Holt.
The dead boy’s grandmother, Pauline Holt, managed to escape the flames but was critically injured after sustaining burns.
It is believed that Gardaí suspect a man previously linked to the property in Edenderry had earlier, earlier that day, instigated a group attack on a drug-dealing rival in the Midlands Prison.
Detectives are trying to determine if the firebombing in Edenderry was carried out in retaliation for the prison attack, though other lines of inquiry are also being explored.
Speaking about today’s arrest, Gardai confirmed that it is a man aged in his 20s.
They said: “An Garda Síochána continues to investigate all the circumstances of an Assault Causing Harm, which is alleged to have taken place in the Midlands Prison on the 6th December 2025.
“This morning, Tuesday 16th December 2025, investigating Gardaí from the Serious Crime Unit, Laois/Offaly Garda Division arrested a man aged in his 20s at the Midlands Prison, Portlaoise.
“He is currently being detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 at a Garda Station in the Eastern Region.
“Investigations are ongoing.”
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