Homeless man jailed for €173k arson at Cork city shop caused by discarded cigarette

Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin said: 'On a human level it is very tragic that this man has in effect given his life away to addiction.'

The two most serious charges relate to burglary and arson at 35 Cornmarket Street, Cork. Photo: Denis Minihane

A 52-year-old homeless man who got into a premises in Cork city on a very wet night discarded a cigarette butt in a bin before he left, causing €173,000 worth of fire and smoke damage.

Now Rodney Haynes has been sentenced to two years in prison for that arson in March 2019 and for a burglary the following October.