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DAMIEN TIERNAN: I knew Philip English long before he was murdered with his family in Waterford. What he texted me at 4.17am four weeks ago now sends chills down my spine

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Cite

Tiernan, D. (2026, October 14). DAMIEN TIERNAN: I knew Philip English long before he was murdered with his family in Waterford. What he texted me at 4.17am four weeks ago now sends chills down my spine. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16209933/DAMIEN-TIERNAN-knew-Philip-English-long-murdered-family-Waterford-texted-4-17am-four-weeks-ago-sends-chills-spine.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Daily Mail · collected 2026-10-14 · by Damien Tiernan analysis

Quick Summary

No summary of this article yet; the story summary below covers the event.

AI analysis

Story summary

On September 18, 2026, Philip English sent a desperate text to Damien Tiernan, who works at WLR FM radio station, stating that his car had been petrol bombed. Philip was concerned about the safety of his family, particularly his children, including daughter Nadia with leukemia and son Jayden with heart issues. The following Monday, local police appealed for information on Garda Watch radio but the extent of their investigation remains unclear. No suspects have been publicly identified. Philip had previously experienced a paint attack on his car in August 2023. Tragically, despite these threats, Philip and his family were later murdered in Waterford.

Written for “Philip English Murder Case” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Philip English Murder Case
Crime & Law · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 3% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Sister of tragic Philip English reveals contrasting updates on the conditions of two children who survived the Waterford Arson attack - and why Gardai are taking the unusual step of guarding their hospital bedside... Different event
Daily Mail
Hedges 0 of 40 claims Outlet record 69/100
“Article A describes a text message Philip English sent about his car being petrol bombed four weeks before the arson attack, while Article B discusses the aftermath and medical conditions of the surviving children following the actual arson attack.”
Hunt for 'killer' after couple and two children die in house fire - and two more youngsters fight for their lives: 'Arson attack' on innocent family followed years of intimidation Different event
Daily Mail
Hedges 4 of 62 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The first article describes the arson attack that killed four people, while the second article discusses an earlier petrol bomb attack on Philip English's car that occurred about a month before.”
Gardai fear more violence after couple and children 'killed in arson attack over €20,000 drug debt' - as two other youngsters remain fighting for their lives Different event
Daily Mail
Hedges 1 of 39 claims Outlet record 69/100
“While both articles mention Philip English and his family, Article A focuses on a text message about a petrol bombing incident four weeks before the main event, whereas Article B describes the fatal arson attack that killed members of Philip's family.”
Funeral mass for Waterford family killed in arson attack to be held Different event
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 10 claims Outlet record 64/100
“Article A describes a text message Philip English sent about his car being petrol bombed, while Article B reports on the funeral for Philip and Kim English and their sons who died in an arson attack. The events are related but describe different specific occurrences.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
36
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
3%
1 of 36 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
69/100
Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-14 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Daily Mail · 8973 article(s) · 22 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 22 correction(s)
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Clarifications and corrections

Who wrote this

Damien Tiernan
1 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 ‘It could have fully caught fire and could’ve burned the house down,’ he said.
2026-10-14 · assertive framing · DAMIEN TIERNAN: I knew Philip English long before he was murdered with his family in Waterford. What he texted me at 4.17am four weeks ago now sends chills down my spine
The only article under this byline in the corpus.

Topics

Garda Garda Watch Guards Nadia WLR FM

Subjects

Philip PERSON · 8× DAMIEN TIERNAN PERSON · 2× Jayden PERSON · 2× Kim PERSON · 2× Nadia PERSON · 2× Philip English PERSON · 2× WLR FM ORG · 2× Garda ORG · 1× Garda Watch ORG · 1× Guards NORP · 1×

Narrative

The text Philip sent to Damien Tiernan of WLR FM Nadia has leukaemia and they were up and down to Crumlin children’s hospital the past few years and needed a specially adapted car as Jayden had heart issues.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-14
🔮 ‘It could have fully caught fire and could’ve burned the house down,’ he said.
2026-10-14 · Daily Mail
DAMIEN TIERNAN: I knew Philip English long before he was murdered with his family in Waterford. What he texted me at 4.17am four weeks ago now sends chills down my spine · assertive framing

Claims (36 extracted, 1 hedged)

‘PLEASE call me, it’s urgent. asserted
it → call → me
My car got petrol bombed.’ asserted
car → bomb → ?
Philip English sent me that text message at 4.17am on Friday, September 18, as dawn was breaking. asserted
dawn → send → Friday
Long shadows appeared as he looked at his badly damaged car. asserted
he → appear → car
The culprits disappeared into the shadows –but they’d be back. asserted
they → disappear → shadows
I rang Philip that morning. asserted
I → ring → Philip
He spoke about how the car was destroyed and how worried he was, especially for his children. asserted
he → speak → children
‘It could have fully caught fire and could’ve burned the house down,’ he said. uncertain
he → catch → house
Philip said he was going to meet the Guards, that he’d keep in touch. asserted
he → say → touch
Philip English and his beloved wife Kim The following Monday, gardaí appealed for information on Garda Watch on our local radio station WLR FM. asserted
gardaí → follow → station
That’s what we know but there is so much we don’t know. asserted
we → ’ → what
Did they link it to a ‘paint attack’ on the car in August 2023? asserted
they → link → August
He had relationships in the past and had grown-up children. asserted
He → have → children
He was madly in love with Kim and they had four wonderful children: Callum, Jayden, Nadia and Elliot. asserted
they → have → children
Philip worked hard in security and other jobs, was never involved in drugs and did his best to raise their children, who loved them intensely. asserted
who → work → them
The text Philip sent to Damien Tiernan of WLR FM Nadia has leukaemia and they were up and down to Crumlin children’s hospital the past few years and needed a specially adapted car as Jayden had heart issues. asserted
Jayden → send → issues
They did everything for their children and loved each other immensely. asserted
They → do → other
I know that because I knew Philip. asserted
I → know → Philip
He contacted me a few years ago about a deeply personal story from his childhood and I put him in touch with a friend who helped him. asserted
who → contact → him
Less than four weeks after the paint attack, at around 5am on Tuesday, at least one person attacked their well-kept, three-bedroom home in the Birchwood estate in Waterford city, as the family slept inside. asserted
family → attack → city
Their car was set on fire. asserted
car → set → fire
And then the glass panel at the front door was smashed. asserted
panel → smash → door
A petrol bomb was thrown in. asserted
bomb → throw → ?
Floral tributes left at the English family's home after this week's firebombing It exploded, fuel splashing everywhere, the stairs catching fire immediately. asserted
stairs → leave → fire
The house quickly filled with thick black smoke. asserted
house → fill → smoke
They woke. asserted
They → wake → ?
They couldn’t get down the stairs. asserted
They → get → stairs
The flames and smoke woke the neighbours. asserted
flames → wake → neighbours
They couldn’t get in. asserted
They → get → ?
Philip broke windows at the back of the house. asserted
Philip → break → house
Screams for help echoed around the estate. asserted
Screams → echo → estate
Neighbours tried everything. asserted
Neighbours → try → everything
They shouted up at him to get the children and throw them out the window and they’d catch them. asserted
they → shout → them
Philip turned around to get them. asserted
Philip → turn → them
He never came back. asserted
He → come → ?
Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. asserted
we → accept → article
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