Over €500,000 worth of damage has been caused by fires that took place on four different occasions on the farm of Jim Derwin in Athlone, Co Westmeath.

Some 1,200 bales of hay and straw, several sheds and a two-box horse lorry, worth €100,000, have all been burned.

Gardaí have confirmed they are aware of the fires and are investigating the four incidents as "criminal damage by fire".

Derwin, who is an international horse dealer, told the Irish Farmers Journal that on two occasions in July, one in August and again on Friday 16 September an individual entered his property and set his sheds and horse lorry on fire.

On the morning of 11 July, over 800 bales of hay and straw were burned and on the morning of 16 September, 400 more bales were set alight on an out-farm.

'Terrible blaggarding'

"It's just terrible blaggarding, someone will be burnt yet.

"The two-horse lorry was only 50 yards from our house and we have expensive horses there too. They have half a million pounds worth of damage done. There's two big sheds gone; I'm a lifetime trying to build them," he said.

Derwin said that on the first three occasions, camera footage of the incidents was captured.

"They came again to our outside farm this morning. It's a big farm we bought a few years ago with a hay shed on it. It was full to the brim with hay and stray. It's burning away as we speak.

"It was all hay I bought this year. It came from Wexford and the last load went into the shed on Sunday night. It cost me €42 a bale," he said.

Damage

In a statement, gardaí said they attended an incident of criminal damage by fire that occurred at a premises at Auburn on the Dublin Road in Athlone, Co Westmeath, at approximately 5am on 10 July 2022, another incident of criminal damage by fire that occurred at a premises in The Derries, Athlone, Co Westmeath, at approximately 2.30am on 11 July 2022 and again at a premises at Auburn, Dublin Road, Athlone, Co Westmeath, at approximately 2.50am on 20 August 2022.

Gardaí told the Irish Farmers Journal this Friday: "Gardaí are investigating a suspected criminal damage by fire incident that occurred at approximately 6am on Friday 16 September 2022 at a hay shed at Fardrum, Athlone, Co Westmeath."