Judge says car parked on street in Offaly town could have exploded

A man sentenced to five years in prison for arson, including three years suspended, was told by a judge that the fuel tank of a car he tried to burn could have exploded.

“Thankfully the blaze in the car was noted relatively early by members of the public who called the fire brigade,” Judge Keenan Johnson said when he sentenced arsonist Fred Dolan.

“Had the fuel tank which was full exploded, there could have been serious injury and damage caused.”

Fifty-five-year-old father of three Mr Dolan had been found guilty following a jury trial of arson at Harbour Street, Tullamore on June 9, 2018.

On the evening of that date he placed firelighters inside the back of a car belonging to David White and lit them before going into a nearby public house.

The car, a 03 registered Mercedes, was valued at €1,500 but on the same day its owner had spent €700 getting new tyres and having it serviced.

The man had also recently taxed it in advance of starting a new job the following Monday and some electrical tools in the boot were destroyed by the fire.

When Mr White returned to his car some time after parking it he noticed it was missing and only learned of the arson attack when he was contacted by the gardai.

Judge Johnson said presumably not knowing the motivation behind the attack was a cause for concern but the court now knew it was a random act of vandalism with no logical explanation.

The judge said it appeared when the accused got intoxicated he had a “fascination with fire” as was evidenced by his prior convictions for arson.

Man responsible for Offaly fires is jailed for two years

Arsonist must pay €5,000 to owner of burned Mercedes

Mr Dolan denied the crime until the jury's guilty verdict but he now accepted he was responsible and indicated he had no recollection of his actions that night due to a combination of medication and drink.

According to a probation report, Mr Dolan had a good work history and a good relationship with his three children but the break-up of his marriage and business difficulties in 2016 triggered a return to drinking and he also went into a form of depression and was on medication.

He had spent a month in psychiatric care in Portlaoise in 2019 and it appeared his mental health had improved since.

In evidence previously given, the accused said he had been sober for three years and did not intend to drink again. He said he had also been sober between 1999 and 2013.

A psychiatric report confirmed he was not now suffering from any mental illness but the report's authors indicated he should never drink alcohol or other intoxicants.

Mr Dolan has been in custody awaiting sentencing and was a “model prisoner” who said himself that he was making the best of a difficult situation in prison.