Jail for Finglas man caught with gun

A young Finglas man who armed himself with a sawn-off shotgun to protect his family after an arson attack near his home has been given a four-year sentence with the last two years suspended.

He was also given a 12-month sentence to run concurrently for possessing cocaine.

David Fahy (aged 28) of Cappagh Avenue pleaded guilty to possessing the gun and ammunition on March 23, 2008 and to possessing 27.616 grammes of cocaine worth €1,933 at Clune Road, Finglas on January 22, 2008.

He has 152 previous convictions, with three public order offences and the rest road traffic matters.

Judge Katherine Delahunt at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court suspended the final two years on strict conditions.

The father-of-three was on bail for a drugs offence when gardaí found the 12-gauge double barrel Beretta shotgun with three rounds of ammunition in a sofa in his living room.

Fahy told gardaí he had bought the shotgun, which he knew was stolen, for €500 after his work truck was set alight outside his house.

He said he had been wearing a bullet proof jacket since the arson attack and had been up all night before the garda raid, monitoring security cameras around his home.

Garda John Walsh told Ms Una Ní Raifeartaigh SC, prosecuting, that Fahy believed the arson attack had been an attempt on his life.

Mr Michael O’Higgins SC (with Mr Cormac Quinn BL), defending, submitted that his client had kept the gun outside for a week but took it indoors after a second arson attack on a car parked close to his home’s gas inlet.