Mark Bissett avoids jail for threatening to burn down home

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

Mark Bissett received a suspended two-year sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for threatening to damage Michael Maher’s home, intending Maher to believe the threat would be carried out.

Bissett pleaded guilty to the offence, which occurred at Central Bank Plaza on Dame Street on 27 May 2016. The proceedings were reported in June 2017.

Judge Karen O’Connor imposed the sentence on strict conditions. She ordered Bissett to stay away from the charity, Maher and Maher’s home, and warned that he faced two years in prison if he got into further trouble.

Defending, Karl Monahan BL said Bissett had been intoxicated and never intended to carry out the threat. The report also said Bissett had previously been assessed as at high risk of re-offending, while his defence submitted that he had addressed many risk factors.