15-year term for den fire manslaughter of boy

The man convicted of causing the death of a boy 13 years ago by setting a children’s makeshift den on fire yesterday received a 15-year prison sentence.

Stephen Hughes was 12 years old in 2001 when he died in the fire in the den where he had been sleeping overnight.

Dermot Griffin, aged 54, of Ballyfermot Rd, Ballyfermot, Dublin, had pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to manslaughter at Rossfield Avenue, Tallaght on September 1, 2001.