Men get 12 years for bomb attack linked to feud

TWO men were yesterday jailed for 12 years over a petrol bomb attack linked to a family feud in Limerick.

Michael Stanners, aged 19, of 9 Delmege Park, Moyross, and Noel Price, aged 25, of 9 Kileely Road, Limerick, carried out the attack on the home of Philip Treacy at Gillogue House, Clonlara, Co Clare on May 17, 2001.

Two petrol bombs were thrown through the window of Mr Treacy’s sitting room, causing between €14,000 and €15,000 worth of damage, Limerick Circuit Court heard yesterday.

Detective Sergeant Jim Ryan said Mr Treacy was lying on a couch watching television at about 6pm when two petrol bombs came through the window. One of the cannisters hit his left arm before igniting.

Mr Treacy saw a man jumping into a car and speeding off. He got a garden hose and put the fire out.

Det Sgt Ryan said the attack had a traumatic effect on Mr Treacy and his wife.

He said the incident had its origins in a family feud that had been ongoing since around November 2000.

“Mr Treacy, who is a hard-working man as a baker, is not directly involved in this feud. I believe he was considered a soft target from the location of his home,” Det Sgt Ryan said.

Imposing sentence, Judge Carroll Moran said: “This is as serious a case short of murder and rape that I have come across and the arson offence was outrageous.

“It is no exaggeration to say that somebody could have been killed if not seriously injured by this attack.

This is just beyond the pale and I have a duty to impose the appropriate sentence in this case.”

The court was told the two accused had previous convictions and came from deprived backgrounds. Isobel Kennedy, for Noel Price, said her client’s father left home when the accused was 13. Brendan Nix, for Stanners, said his client was in a relationship and had a three-year-old child.