Man jailed for three years for hostel petrol bombing

A man who petrol bombed a hostel so his girlfriend would be kicked out of it has been sentenced to three years.

Simon McDonagh (aged 25) became aggressive after he was not allowed follow his partner into the hostel where she was staying. He shouted that he was going to do something to get her barred and later threw a petrol bomb at the building, causing a fire and €300 worth of damage.

The court heard McDonagh of Sancta Maria Hostel, Charelmont Street, has been in and out of prison repeatedly and was in danger of becoming ‘institutionalised’. He has 117 previous convictions for offences committed here and in the North. These are mainly for theft, public order and road traffic offences.

McDonagh pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of a petrol bomb and attempted arson at Caretaker’s Hostel, Back Lane on May 16, 2007.

Judge Frank O’Donnell said it was a very serious matter, the consequences of which "could have been disastrous". He also noted McDonagh’s “carefree demeanour and gay abandon” when he entered the courtroom and said he got the impression he was not taking the matter seriously.

He took into account that McDonagh was now drug free and was one of 17 siblings raised in a very violent household. He suspended the final year of the sentence on strict conditions.

Garda Tom Gallagher told Mr Kerida Naidoo BL, prosecuting, that McDonagh was going to the hostel with his girlfriend but got into an argument with staff after he was refused entry. When hostel staff threatened to call gardaí he left, shouting at his girlfriend that he was going to do something to get her barred.

He also said that he was going to return and burn the hostel down. He went to a nearby petrol station and bought a small amount of petrol which he put in a plastic container. He used it to make a petrol bomb with a empty beer bottle.

He threw it at a wall of the hostel, starting a fire which was put out by staff using fire extinguishers. McDonagh was arrested shortly after and made full admissions. He said he was just trying to get his point across and that he intended to pay for the damages.

Defence counsel, Mr Pieter Le Vert BL, said his client had no education and had been addicted to alcohol and drugs but was now clean. He said he had sentences left to serve on other matters and was in danger of becoming institutionalised if his situation did not change.