Courts / Dublin / Report
Appeal court dismisses arsonist's challenge against 10-year sentence
Summary
Patrick Maughan, aged 29, was sentenced to ten years in prison, with three years suspended, for setting fire to an apartment complex in Thornfield Square, Clondalkin, on 7 July 2013. The arson was carried out outside apartment 31, where a resident, awake and caring for a sick child, raised the alarm. The blaze forced the evacuation of 39 people, including children, and required repairs to 20 apartments. Residents were housed elsewhere for eight months, and the complex owner incurred €517,000 in losses. Maughan claimed the attack was part of a family feud and that he was "out of it" due to drink and valium. A psychologist reported an IQ of 56, placing him in the bottom two per cent of the population. His appeal to reduce the sentence was dismissed by the Court of Appeal. Patrick Maughan pleaded guilty.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Appeal court dismisses arsonist's challenge against 10-year sentence. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- July 7th, 2013 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2016-02-18 Publication
Why: The court heard that the arson attack was part of a family feud, that a member of the other family was resident in the apartment block and that Maughan said he was "out of it" because of drink and valium. Court evidence reported by CNI
Case subjects
Appellant
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Patrick Maughan (29), who set the fire outside an occupied flat in the complex while a family with two young children were inside, had appealed against the "severity" of his sentence. Maughan, of Boot Road, Clondalkin, Dublin pleaded guilty last May at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to arson at Block B, Thornfield Square, Clondalkin on July 7th, 2013 and was sentenced to ten years in prison, with three years suspended, by Judge Patricia Ryan.
Places mentioned
- Court of Appeal
- Dublin
- Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
- Boot Road
- Dublin
- Thornfield Square
- Fonthill Road
Topics
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