Michael Farrell’s arson sentence upheld on appeal

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

The Court of Appeal dismissed a challenge to Michael Farrell’s four-and-a-half-year prison sentence on 30 April 2019. The final 18 months of the sentence were suspended on terms. Ms Justice Kennedy delivered the court’s judgment.

Farrell pleaded not guilty. After a three-day trial in the Circuit Criminal Court that concluded on 18 July 2018, he was found guilty of four counts of arson and two counts of unauthorised interference with a vehicle.

On 11 January 2017, three cars were set alight at Tomar Court in Palatine Square, Dublin 7, and nearby residents were evacuated. On 18 January, gardaí observed Farrell set a bag of rubbish alight and later saw him in the back of a vehicle in Cavalry Row that was shortly afterwards set alight.

Farrell made no admissions about either incident. He accepted that he appeared on CCTV footage from Tomar Court but maintained that he had nothing to do with the fire.

Farrell was sentenced on 19 October 2018. The Director of Public Prosecutions sought a review on grounds of undue leniency, but the Court of Appeal found that the sentence fell within the sentencing judge’s discretionary range.