Owner of Dublin house where blaze broke out has fire safety conviction

Gardaí are investigating the cause of a fire at a house in Phibsborough, Dublin owned by landlord and ex-Garda Kevin Galvin who was jailed in 2010 for breaching court orders in relation to fire safety at one of his properties .

Six people, including one child, were treated for smoke inhalation following a fire yesterday at the house at 116 Cabra Park which is divided into multiple flats.

The fire broke out at 3.30am yesterday. Five units from the Dublin Fire Brigade attended the blaze and 14 people were evacuated from the property. The house is one of several owned by Mr Galvin of Furry Park Road, Killester, Dublin.

In 2010, Dublin City Council secured injunctions directing Mr Galvin to ensure all tenants vacated 116 Cabra Park, as well as number 73 on the same road and 41 Phibsborough Road because the council believed the properties represented a clear danger to anyone residing in them.

At the Phibsborough Road property three adults and a baby were living in what was described in court as a shed in the back yard heated by an oven.

In December of that year, the President of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, ordered Mr Galvin's committal for six weeks after the council complained he had failed to vacate the house at 73 Cabra Park of all its residents.

Mr Galvin was dismissed from the Garda in June 2010 following an investigation into 19 complaints against him. He appealed the dismissal but his appeal was rejected by the High Court in December 2011.

Neighbours of the fire-damaged house at Cabra Park reported that Mr Galvin tried to gain entry to the house yesterday afternoon, but was refused by gardaí. Efforts by The Irish Times to contact Mr Galvin yesterday were not successful.