By Fiona Ferguson
A drunken man who attempted to start a fire at a house due to a long-held grievance with a previous resident has been given a four-year suspended sentence.
Oliver Moore (55) was unaware the man he held a grudge against no longer lived there and the house was instead occupied by three students. Gardaí arrived as he was attempting to push burning paper through the letterbox in the early hours.
Moore, of Norfolk Road, Dublin 7, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to attempted arson on November 18, 2022. He has no previous convictions.
Passing sentence on Tuesday, Judge Martin Nolan said he was “a man who held grievances for a long time”. He noted Moore’s attempts to start the fire were ineffectual, but that it was a serious thing to try and set a house on fire.
Taking into account a number of mitigating factors, he handed down a four-year sentence and suspended it on a number of conditions, telling Moore: “This is your first and last chance”.
The investigating garda told Lisa Dempsey BL, prosecuting, that the students renting the house heard banging in the early hours of the morning and saw a man shouting in the street.
The man, Moore, charged at the front door and was so incensed that he began kicking and spitting at the door. The students were terrified, fearing he was going to come inside.
They exited the back of the house into the garden and rang gardai. They later found embers of burnt newspaper just inside the front door.
Gardaí arrived at the scene and found Moore at the front door crouched to the height of the letter box. He was attempting to light a newspaper he was pushing through the letterbox.
Gardaí asked him what he was doing with the lighter and paper and he told them he was, “going to burn him out.” They asked if he was trying to set the house on fire and he replied: “Yeah.”
The court heard that the dispute Moore had with the previous resident went back a number of years and the man had since moved from the house unknown to Moore.
Moore was initially unfit for interview by gardai but was later apologetic and made admissions in relation to his behaviour on the night.
Simon Matthews BL, defending, said this had been a “moment of madness” on his client’s behalf. He said Moore was remorseful and apologetic in relation to the events.
He said Moore had previously worked as a chef and was a carer for his mother. He submitted Moore would not offend again, had met the case responsibly and not put the injured parties through further pain. He said there had been no further incidents and Moore has not returned to the property.