Aaron McDonagh jailed for eight years for manslaughter and arson

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Aaron McDonagh was sentenced at the Central Criminal Court on 23 July 2021 to nine years for manslaughter and nine years for arson, with the final year of each sentence suspended.

Mr Justice Michael White ordered the sentences to run concurrently, leaving an effective eight years in prison. McDonagh, 21 and of no fixed abode, had a learning disability and was 16 at the time of the offences.

He had pleaded guilty to both charges. The proceedings were reported on 23 July 2021.

The charges concerned the killing of 61-year-old Gerry Marron and setting fire to his home at St Macartans Villas, Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, on 21 March 2016.

The arson charge involved intending to damage the house or being reckless as to whether it would be damaged, and intending to endanger another person's life or being reckless as to whether another person's life would be endangered.