The Circuit Criminal Court in Dublin.

Jessie Magee

A Cavan man has been sentenced to four years in prison for threatening to burn down an elderly woman's caravan home because he thought she had sold his horse without permission.

Liam Deegan (20) of Kilmore Willows, Ballyjamesduff, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to demanding money with menace on date between April 1 and June 24, 2010.

The court heard that Deegan had given his horse to Ms Jenny Powell because she looked after horses, dogs and goats on a field near her home in Blanchardstown.

She said Deegan got it into his head that she had sold the horse on when in fact she had passed the horse on to someone else to take care of.

Ms Powell couldn't afford to keep the horse because of the fact that Deegan had not kept up the payments to her.

Garda Olive Crowe told Ms Karen O'Connor BL, prosecuting, that Deegan then telephoned Ms Powell (78) and screamed and shouted down the phone at her.

He threatened to burn her caravan down if she didn't give the horse back.

Ms Powell was left very frightened and was anxious about her safety and she alerted Gardaí to the threats.

Gardaí questioned Deegan about the telephone call after they arrested him on an unrelated incident of attempted robbery and he admitted making the threats.

Mr Eoghan Cole BL, defending, heard that the injured party doesn't bear any ill will towards Deegan.

He said his client had been abusing drugs and alcohol since 2006 and that he was sorry for what he did.

Mr Cole added that Deegan, who is currently serving a prison sentence, is undergoing several courses while in jail in anger management and interpersonal relationships, and that he is also getting addiction counselling.

The court heard that Deegan's earliest possible release date from prison is January 24, 2014.

Judge Patricia Ryan handed down a sentence of four years in prison with two years suspended, to run concurrently with his current jail sentence.