RTE star Brian Ormand has home bombed

Conor Feehan, Melanie Finn and Cormac Murphy

GARDAI were today investigating a nail bomb attack on the family home of RTE star Brian Ormond.

The terrifying incident took place at the west Dublin home while his parents, Jess and Mick, were inside.

TV presenter Brian (32), who married model Pippa O'Connor (both pictured) earlier this year, refused to comment when contacted by the Herald today.

It is believed to be the second time that the Ormond family home has been targeted in this way.

Sources are confident it is connected to the crime enforcement job of a close relative.

Today, the house at St John’s Park in Clondalkin was sealed off pending a forensic examination by members of the Garda Technical Bureau.

The device caused a massive amount of damage and the effects of the force were scattered around the front garden.

The glass panels in the front door were shattered, with shards of glass strewn far and wide. A long burn mark could be seen at the base of the door where the device went off, warping the door as it exploded.

Plant pots were smashed by the blast and the doormat was ripped to shreds. A car in the driveway also suffered damage to the front of it near to where the blast occurred.

A local man said he arrived home from holidays around five minutes before the attack.

“I wasn't long in the house when I heard a very loud bang around a quarter past ten. I thought something had happened my car, and I looked out and I could see all the damage to the other house,” he told the Herald.

It is understood the attack may be connected to the job of a highly-respected family member who works in crime enforcement. A garda spokesman said today all they can say at this stage is that a device was used and damage was caused.

“There was damage to the front door of the house. At this stage, it has to be examined,” he added. There were two people in the property but no one was injured, he told the Herald.

“I can't say what caused it. It could be some kind of device or explosive. It has to be examined to establish that,” the spokesman said.

It is just over four months since Brian and Pippa (26), the sister of show jumper Cian O'Connor, tied the knot at an old chapel near Cloon outside Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.

A film crew from RTE captured every moment of the wedding at St Patrick's in Curtlestown and the programme, Brian and Pippa Get Married, will air later this month. Speaking about the show recently, Pippa said it won't be anything like The Hills.

“People were saying ‘oh my God you're doing a reality show', but it's not a reality show, it's a documentary. We're not in The Hills,” the model said.

“The only way I would sign up to it was if the guys who are producing it allowed us to be completely real. I didn't want to do anything that was false or set-up because people would think you are morons.”

hnews@herald.ie