A man who set fire to rooms in his old school as revenge against a former headmaster has been jailed for four years by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Thomas Shevlin caused £105,000 damage after setting fire to waste paper in O'Connell's Primary School in North Richmond Street. He walked into a Garda station six days later and made a full confession. Shelvin (25), of Summerhill, Dublin, pleaded guilty to arson on the night of April 7th, 1997. He admitted to gardai that he smashed up two classrooms with a hurley before starting the fire.
He told gardai he had a grudge against a former headmaster and said he was having personal problems when he decided to burn down the school.
Judge Elizabeth Dunne set a sentence review date for January 13th, 2000.