Man tried to set fire to neighbour’s home

After a period of prolonged antisocial behaviour during which the windscreen of his car was smashed twice, a middle-aged law abiding Limerick man snapped and in a state of drink-fuelled delusion tried to set fire to the home of a completely innocent neighbour, a court heard.

Michael O’Donovan, aged 56, of 5 Emmett Place, St Joseph St, pleaded guilty at Limerick Circuit Court to a charge of arson at nearby Wolfe Tone St intending to endanger life and property.

Judge Tom O’Donnell was told that O’Donovan carried out the attack on April 2, 2015, after going to a shed where he got white spirits and brake fluid.