A 49-year-old man has appeared before Dublin District Court charged in connection with an arson attack at a former pub in Dublin on New Year's Eve last.
Steven McDonnell, a father of four from Cambridge Park in Ringsend, Dublin, was charged with arson under Section 2 of the Criminal Damage Act and with criminal damage by fire.
Detective Sergeant Jonathan Kelly gave evidence that he had been arrested at his home early this morning and later charged at Irishtown Garda Station.
He said the fire at the disused Shipwright pub and guesthouse on Thorncastle Street in Ringsend could have spread towards other buildings where people were residing, and he said he was objecting to bail due to the seriousness of the charge.
Solicitor Tony Collier said his client had no previous convictions.
He had denied the offence and said he would be asserting his innocence. He said he was deeply rooted within his community.
Mr McDonnell was released under certain bail conditions.
He had been required to lodge his own bond of €250 as well as €2,500 in cash or an independent surety of that amount.
His bail conditions also require him to sign on at this local garda station, not to loiter in the Thorncastle Street and Fitzwilliam Street areas of Ringsend and not to make contact by any means with the owner of the Shipwright pub.
He had earlier surrendered his passport.
The case was listed again for 27 March when a book of evidence is expected to be served ahead of any future trial.
