A man who lost two fingers when a pipe bomb exploded in his hand in Blackrock, Co Dublin, told gardaí he had injured himself by “messing around with fireworks”, a court has heard.
Patrick Lynch (38) admitted trying to scare a man as part of a long-running feud by throwing the explosive into the garden of the family home.
Lynch, of Nutgrove Crescent, Rathfarnham, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of the pipe bomb at St Louise’s Park, Blackrock on January 20th last.
Judge Mary Ellen Ring imposed a sentence of five years and suspended the final 2½ years on condition he keeps the peace for that period.
The court heard that the attack was part of an ongoing feud between two families. It heard Lynch had 110 previous convictions, including assault, burglary and larceny. The majority of his convictions are for road traffic offences.
Pieter LeVert, defending, said the feud evolved out of a minor incident in 2005 and flared up from time to time. He said his client is a father of five and a grandfather.
He said Lynch is on the periphery of the feud and other people took advantage of his drug addiction on the night.