A Co Armagh man who “snapped” and caused millions of pounds worth of damage “in a moment of madness” when he set fire to a bank building in a “revenge attack” over a house insurance dispute has been jailed.
Ordering Patrick Brennan (54) to serve 12 months in jail and two years under supervised licence conditions, Judge Donna McColgan KC said she had to impose an immediate custodial sentence.
The Craigavon Crown Court jury told Brennan however that given his mental health issues and based on submissions from defence KC Michael Chambers, she was imposing the “uneven split” between custody and licence.
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At an earlier hearing Brennan, from Ballyoran Park in Portadown, entered guilty pleas to arson of a bank building belonging to Halifax on February 6.
Brennan had been seen pouring liquid from a red container into the Halifax building through a broken window” and he then proceeded to pour more liquid onto the edge of the windows “and set it alight”.
Brennan remained at the scene, sitting on the ground with a pair of gloves and the sledgehammer nearby and when the witness pointed him out he was arrested.
Interviewed the following day Brennan “made full admissions to starting the fire” and told police there had been a fire at his home on the Corcrain estate in April 2022 when a neighbour accidentally put hot ashes in a bin which then caught fire and spread to his home, damaging the garage and two bedrooms.
While the neighbour’s insurance policy had paid out for the external damage his house insurance policy, which was with the Halifax, had not.
The judge outlined how Brennan told detectives he had looked out that morning and saw bins lined up which had the numbers 666 on them and from the journal he kept, he also realised it had been 666 days since the fire which wrecked his home.
Having gone to two garages for petrol, he loaded the canisters, the sledge hammer and the gloves into a trolley, told his partner he was going for a walk and then proceeded to the Halifax building where he smashed a hole in the window, poured out the petrol and set it ablaze.
Initially, Halifax estimated it would cost £1.2million to fix the damage and reopen the branch but a further estimate added another million to the cost. It was decided not to rebuild.
Judge McColgan told the court that there were multiple aggravating features including the amount of damage caused, the widespread impact of it and that the fire “would be regarded as a revenge attack”.
In mitigation, his defence emphasised Brennan’s exemplary work record, completely clear criminal record and ongoing mental health issues.