Man who threatened to kill family avoids prison

By Eimear Dodd

A man who threatened to have his neighbour’s house set on fire and for them to be killed following a row between their young children has avoided a jail term.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court was told that a door camera recorded the 30-year-old giving his six-year-old daughter a scissors after he made the threat and encouraging her to stab the other girl.

The man pleaded guilty to making a threat to kill or cause serious harm in April 2025. He can not being named in reporting the case to protect the children’s identities.

Judge Orla Crowe remarked in sentencing that nothing warranted an adult offending in such a matter and said it was a “completely disproportionate reaction”.

She noted the accused has prior convictions including for assault, but there has been no contact or difficulties between the parties since and the other family has moved out of the area.

The judge referred to letters describing the man as a devoted father who plays a significant role in family life. She also acknowledged a letter of apology from the man, that he has a good work history and a record of voluntary work.

Judge Crowe said he has taken steps to deal with his anger management and expressed remorse.

She said she was going to give him a chance, adding that the offence “simply should not have taken place”.

The judge imposed a sentence of 18 months which she suspended in full for two years on strict conditions including that the man stay away from the injured party and their family. She ordered that €1,000 brought to court as a token of remorse be paid over to the injured party.

An investigating garda told Rebecca Smith BL, prosecuting, that gardai were called to a dispute between neighbours, which developed from a disagreement between two six-year-old girls.

Gardai mediated between the mothers of the girls, who agreed they’d be kept apart. The witness said gardai then left as they had no further concerns because the dispute had been resolved.

About 25 minutes later, they got a call to return to the same estate. The injured party outlined that the man arrived at her home where he made threats, which were recorded by her door camera.

The court was told the footage showed him on a call saying: “Do it later, do a right job.”

“Get them out of here, every single one of them, get every single one of them out today.”

He continued: “You break them up you do. It doesn’t matter. Fuck them, I’m sick of them.

They are getting set on fire today, the smelly bastards.  They are dead, everyone of yous is dead”.

The man then handed his six-year-old daughter a scissors saying “get her, go down and fucking stab her”.

The injured party said the man then drove away and the injured party felt the threats would be carried out.

Gardai went to the man’s house and arrested him a short time later. Nothing of evidential value was obtained when he was interviewed.

The man has a number of previous convictions including for assault, theft and road traffic offences. He has not come to garda attention since this incident.

The investigating garda agreed with David Fleming BL, defending, that his client stayed outside the house and did not say the words directly to the injured party. She added that all the words were said while he was looking at the house.

It was further accepted that the man denied he was the person on the footage but said a hypothetical person might feel awful for what they’d done.

The garda agreed there have been no further difficulties between the families and that the man complied with his bail conditions.

A victim impact statement was handed in and not read aloud to the court.

The man works as a driver for a private coach operator and volunteers in a local boxing club. He has two children, one of whom has additional needs.

Mr Fleming said his client made “outrageous” statements outside the home of the injured party and has no excuse for this.

He submitted his client appeared to have “flipped out” and “uttered things which would scare anyone”.

Counsel said his instructions are that these were empty words, acknowledging that the injured party would not have known this.

He said his client failed to keep his cool and has been attending anger management.

A letter of apology and other references were handed to court.

Mr Fleming said his client is truly apologetic and asked the court to consider requesting the Probation Service to assess the man’s suitability for community service.