Two waited in car while others firebombed house, court told
Two Co Cork men waited in a car while two others carried out a firebomb attack on a house in Cork last year, the Special Criminal Court heard today.
The court was told that Anthony Crowley and Alan Hickey were arrested as they sat in a car 10 miles from where a van loaded with six five gallon drums of petrol "exploded in a fireball" after it was ignited outside a detached house at Littleisland.
Gardaí found two sets of clothing belonging to the men who carried out the firebomb attack, as well as four mobile phones and a bottle of petrol in the car in which Crowley and Hickey were found.
Detective Superintendent Tony Quilter told the court that Crowley and Hickey were both on bail at the time of the firebomb attack – Crowley on firearms charges and Hickey for withholding information from the Gardaí relating to the guns.
Anthony Crowley (aged 22), of Stone View, Blarney and Alan Hickey (aged 20), of Ballygibbon, Blarney pleaded guilty on Tuesday to damaging a van intending by the said damage to endanger Mr Barry Sheehan's life at The Fairways, Littleisland, Cork on March 23 last year.
Last June Crowley pleaded guilty to the unlawful possession of an AK 47 assault rifle, a pistol, a sawn off shotgun, 119 shotgun cartridges and 126 rounds of ammunition at his home on October 3, 2002.
Hickey pleaded guilty on the same occasion to withholding information from the Gardaí between October 2 and 4, 2002.
Detective Supt Quilter of Anglesea St in Cork, said that gardaí who searched Crowley’s home in October 2002 found the AK 47 assault rifle, sawn off shotgun, pistol and ammunition. They also found a poster with the words "Sniper At Work" and the words "Brits Out , 26 is not enough" in Crowley’s bedroom.
Crowley admitted his responsibility for the guns and ammunition and said to gardaí: "I’ll get 20 years for this."
Hickey was arrested in connection with the arms find and admitted to gardaí that he had known Crowley was keeping the guns.
The Detective Superintendent said that gardaí carried out a surveillance operation on a van parked in a car park at a graveyard at Whitechurch in Cork in March 2004. Crowley was observed arriving at the van and on another occasion Hickey was observed putting two five gallon drums into the van.
The van was searched by gardaí and six five-gallon drums of petrol, firelighters and balaclavas were found in it and the van was then kept under observation.
On the night of March 23 last year, the van was driven to Littleisland where it was reversed into the garden of a detached house in a cul de sac by two men. "The two set the van alight and the van exploded in a fireball near the house," he added.
The two men were arrested at the scene and in a follow up operation Crowley and Hickey were arrested in a car at the graveyard at Whitechurch.
Last month two men who drove the van to the house, Jonathan O’ Rourke (aged 24), of Willison Park, Blarney, Co Cork and Paul Mc Carthy (aged 22), of Assumption Terrace, Station Road, Blarney were each jailed for four years for their part in the firebomb attack.
The court will sentence Crowley and Hickey tomorrow.
