Irishman dies day after Australian hotel damage fine

An Irishman who pleaded guilty earlier this week to causing almost €340,000 worth of damage to an Australian hotel has been found dead.

Padraig Gaffney, from Lanesborough in Co Longford, was fined A$10,000 (€6,800) in a Melbourne court on Tuesday over the incident in April 2013 at the Fraser Place Hotel, where he had been staying with his girlfriend.

The court was told that he woke up in his hotel room after a night out. He went out of the room and down an emergency exit to the eighth floor, where he set off a fire hydrant. The water flooded the floors below and guests had to be evacuated.

The damage amounted to more than A$500,000.

The Age newspaper quoted the judge in the case as saying Mr Gaffney had been heavily intoxicated, but there was no malicious intent to cause damage to the hotel, and it was just a stupid act that he would never have contemplated had he been sober.

Nonetheless, after his court appearance, Mr Gaffney told Australian media: “This entire thing has ruined my life completely.

“I’ve spent 10 years in Australia trying to better myself and in the space of one night everything can be taken away from you. People who go out for the night and drink too much can ruin themselves completely.”

On Wednesday, just a day after the court appearance, he was found dead. Details on how he died have not yet emerged.

The Department of Foreign Affairs is providing consular assistance to Mr Gaffney’s family.