A CONNEMARA man who was angry because his wife was having an affair has admitted burning down the house of her lover in a case before Galway Circuit Court.
Michael Thornton (45), of Aillwee, Rosmuc, Co Galway, pleaded guilty to arson. The £20,000 house of Mr Joe Lynch at Kilbricken, Rosmuc, was destroyed by the fire caused by the defendant. Thornton had drunk almost a bottle of whiskey on October 13th and twice during the day attempted to burn the house down.
Mr Lynch, the defendant's wife, Mrs Brid Thornton, and a neighbour put out the initial fire, said Garda Brendan Kineavy. Thornton went come to bed. When he woke up and his wife was still not at home, he threw more petrol into a window of the Lynch house. The resultant flames almost killed Mr Lynch.
Mr Paul Flannery, defending, said his client made a complaint to the Garda in July 1995, that his wife and Mr Lynch were having an affair. For the Garda this was a civil matter but the community looked very dimly on adultery. The defendant had said: "Ni raibh mo bhean sasta teacht abhaile." He was a man who was upset at finding her in another man's kitchen.
Thornton, speaking in Irish, said he felt badly that his wife was having an affair. On October 13th his wife would not come home from Mr Lynch's. He bought petrol and spilt it outside Mr Lynch's front door.
Asked if he realised that he could not go around burning houses if his wife was having an affair, Thornton said he got no heed from the Garda. He denied trying to kill his wife and Mr Lynch. He and his wife were now back together. He did not intend doing anything further to Mr Lynch.
Mr Flannery asked that his client, who had taken the law into his own hands in a desperate action, be bound to the peace for a year to see how he behaved.
After hearing that his wife had returned, Judge Harvey Kenny said the desperate action seemed to have worked. But he warned Thornton that his actions could have led to loss of life. He bound him to the peace and added that he could still go to jail.