Richard Crealy acquitted of reckless Gaiety Theatre damage

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

Richard Crealy was acquitted of recklessly causing €100,000 damage to the Gaiety Theatre by a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court jury on 12 March 2018. The charge arose from a bin fire in Tangier Lane, Dublin, which began as he used a lighter to look for cardboard.

The prosecution said it did not allege that Crealy intended to cause the damage, but that he was reckless. Judge Cormac Quinn told jurors they had to consider whether he foresaw that the fire and resulting smoke might damage the theatre and activate its sprinklers.