Man gets suspended sentence for setting fire to house

A Dublin man who set fire to a house while its owners were sleeping inside has been given a three year suspended sentence by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Canice Hilliard (27), Shangan Rd, Ballymun, pleaded guilty to setting fire to the front door of a neighbouring house in Ballymun in the early hours of the morning on Feberuary 24, 2001.

A bench warrant has been issued for his brother Rohan, who also pleaded guilty to the charge but was not in court.

Judge Frank O’Donnell said although this case deserved a custodial sentence he was satisfied from the information he had been given by gardai that Hilliard would not offend again.

He said he believed the other family were not entirely innocent and noted Canice Hilliard had previously received 15 stitches following an attack by members of the second family.

Earlier the court heard there had been an ongoing dispute between the Hilliard family and the owners of the house.

The Hilliard brothers attacked while members of the family were asleep upstairs. The boyfriend of the daughter of the house was awake in the living room when he realised the front door was on fire.

He raised the alarm and poured a bucket of water on the fire. Meanwhile, a neighbour who saw the fire had called Dublin Fire Brigade. He had also seen two men leaving the scene just as the house caught fire.

Shortly afterwards, members of the family discovered an empty two litre milk canister in the vicinity of the house. It gave off a very strong smell of petrol.

The court heard the family was shaken and traumatised by the event which had put their lives in serious danger.

A short while after the incident Canice came to the garda station voluntarily where he confessed to starting the fire. He apologised and admitted to having been under considerable influence of alcohol. Rohan was arrested later the same day.

Video evidence obtained from security cameras at a nearby filling station showed the Hilliard brothers putting petrol into the milk canister which was later recovered from near the house.

They told gardai their intention had not been to harm the family members, but "to give them a fright."

The dispute between the two families continued even after the incident, with members of the other family being the aggressors.

At the time of the fire, the father of the other family had been in jail and was "not best pleased" with the Hilliards. On his release he went to the Hilliard sisters’ home and kicked in their front door, demanding to know where the brothers were.

The Hilliards’ only response to the attack had been to report the incident to gardai and to move from the area. The Hilliard parents as well as Canice have now left the neighbourhood and relocated in the countryside.