Legal bill ‘straw that broke’ man in despair

JIM HOURIGAN told a close friend how he booby-trapped his rented house with seven bottles of gas and containers of petrol after receiving a “colossal” bill from his solicitor relating to his compensation case for sexual abuse.

David Moloney, who has been friends with Adare- born Mr Hourigan, a highly qualified electrician, for 20 years, said: “He wired up the gas and petrol to explode if anybody tried to enter the house.

Adare-born Mr Hourigan is a qualified electrician.

“He was talking to me on the phone when the guards came to his door on Wednesday. He told me he asked the guards to clear the area as he did not want anybody to get injured.”

Mr Hourigan had spoken of his despair over the way his compensation case for sexual abuse had been handled and also told Mr Moloney that he was on hunger strike.

Mr Moloney said he drove Mr Hourigan from Limerick to Roscrea on Tuesday after the latter was arrested for allegedly threatening to injure a Limerick-based solicitor.

Mr Moloney said Mr Hourigan alleged the solicitor had cost him huge sums of money because of delays in processing his civil action against the Christian Brothers. The solicitor has refused to comment on the issue.

Mr Moloney said Mr Hourigan told him gardaí had travelled from Limerick on Tuesday and brought him to Roxboro Garda Station where he was questioned about an alleged threat to a solicitor he had made previously.

Mr Moloney said: “He phoned me and asked if I would put him up for the night. That was on Tuesday. I gave him a meal and drove him back to Roscrea where he was concerned about his dog and cat not being fed.”

Mr Hourigan spoke to Mr Moloney on the phone on Wednesday and claimed he had received a letter from a solicitor for fees which he described as “colossal”.

Mr Moloney said: “He said this was the last straw. He said ‘that was it’. Jim said the solicitor was demanding thousands of euro.”

Mr Moloney said Jim Hourigan had taken seven bottles of gas from a dry cleaners next door to him.

“He rang me at around 12.45pm on Wednesday and told me about the bottles of gas in the house. He said he got a young lad to go up to the shop for 500 cigarettes and said he was going on hunger strike. He told the boy who he sent for the cigarettes to tell the gardaí.

“As I spoke to him, he said the guards were at the door and there was petrol upstairs. He said he was looking for justice and that he had been unjustly treated by the solicitor.

“The bill set him off. He said he had all the upstairs and roof and doors booby trapped, and if anybody entered, it would ignite.”

Mr Moloney said Mr Hourigan was upset that he was being portrayed as “some kind of lunatic” in media reports.

“Jim is a highly educated man. He goes to Mass every morning and is highly thought of by his neighbours in Roscrea. He was praised for his work in the community. He was sexually abused as a boy when he was studying to become a Christian Brother.

“I think all these problems with the solicitor just brought it all back. Betrayed by a Brother years ago and being betrayed now by the solicitor he had dealing with the case. It was just way too much for him. The letter he got on Wednesday was the straw that broke him. Jim is not a violent man.”