Young Cork man jailed for setting fire to two new homes weeks before handover of keys

The young Carrigaline man had also carried out a frenzied stabbing attack of his friend with a multi-tool knife when they had been taking cocaine and alcohol

A total sentence for the arson and an assault offence was measured at three years and six months with the last six months suspended. File picture: Dan Linehan

Two brand new houses in Carrigaline that were within weeks of being ready to hand over to the owners were set on fire by a young Cork man who filmed himself carrying out the arsons before sharing the videos on Snapchat.

19-year-old Conor Farrell went home for his dinner as the fires took hold causing structural damage to one house and extensive smoke damage to another — resulting in more than €47,000 of structural damage and €45,000 of smoke damage at the neighbouring houses at Garrán Ferney in Carrigaline.

Garda Declan O’Dwyer testified at Cork Circuit Criminal Court that the arsons occurred a very short time before keys were about to be handed over to the new owners and that the fire damage set this back considerably.

Jessica Kelleher, defence barrister, said on behalf of the young man with an address at Whiteoaks, Kilnagleary, Carrigaline, County Cork: 

He had serious addiction issues. He lacks maturity and there could be cognitive issues. 

Garda O’Dwyer agreed and said: “My worry in relation to Conor is that he lacked understanding of how it affected the owners of the house and the man who was assaulted.” 

A total sentence for the arson and an assault offence was measured at three years and six months with the last six months suspended.

Assault

Judge Dermot Sheehan said Conor Farrell had difficulty with anger management and was on a dangerous combination of alcohol and cocaine on another night when he assaulted his friend with a knife.

The young Carrigaline man produced a multi-tool knife during a frenzied stabbing attack of his friend with whom he had been taking cocaine and alcohol all that night.

Garda Dwyer said that when the defendant was interviewed by gardaí about that attack he initially said he did not know what happened but later said there was a knife on the ground which he picked up during an argument about some cocaine that appeared to have gone missing in the course of the night.

He admitted assault causing harm at Church Hill, Carrigaline, on January 16 and producing the weapon during the incident. 

The injured party, who chose not to make a victim impact statement, received 14 separate stab wounds during the incident and was later taken to Cork University Hospital for treatment. One wound was slightly above his left eye while a second was slightly below it.

The arsons were carried out on March 12, 2023, when he broke into two new houses that were almost completed and he set fires in various rooms including the attic of one of the new homes.