Convicted burglar Francis Maguire (49) is being treated for burns to his hands as he tried to put out a fire that was deliberately set on his girlfriend (43) when she answered the door to her Clondalkin home to a gangland thug on Tuesday morningFrancis Maguire and the scene at Oak Downs, Clondalkin(Image: Collins)

This Dublin burglar was the main intended target of a ruthless gang who doused his girlfriend in an accelerant and set her on fire.

Convicted burglar Francis Maguire (49) is being treated for burns to his hands as he tried to put out a fire that was deliberately set on his girlfriend (43) when she answered the door to her Clondalkin home to a gangland thug on Tuesday morning.

His girlfriend, who is understood to have children, had an accelerant thrown in her face and was set on fire at the doorstep of her home in Oak Downs at around 10am. She remains in intensive care in Tallaght Hospital where it is understood she is being treated for 60 per cent body burns and is fighting for her life. Her condition is still being described as critical.

Francis Maguire(Image: Collins Courts)

Sources say Maguire, who has 25 convictions to his name, was the primary target of the gang – and was being targeted in a suspected row over drugs. The savage gang who attacked his girlfriend also attempted to douse Maguire – who is understood to have ducked most of the accelerant.

The attacker, who fled the area on a motorbike, is suspected to have targeted the couple because of an ongoing row with Maguire. A number of men turned up at Maguire’s home the previous afternoon, and gardai were alerted to claims of them brandishing knives.

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However no formal complaint was made to gardai at the time. Sources say this horrific attack is a significant escalation after a number of incidents at the house over the past number of years.

One local told the Irish Mirror of a shocking previous incident in which someone let off shots at the house with a firearm a number of years ago. “It’s very sad, there have been a lot of incidents but nothing quite like this. That poor woman did not deserve this,” a local said.

Members of the Garda Technical Bureau were seen carrying out a forensic examination of the scene on Wednesday morning. The incident has been widely condemned – and now a local councillor is calling on gardai to investigate the case as attempted murder.

Sinn Fein councillor William Joseph Carey, who lives near where the attack took place told us: “I believe it to be an attempted murder and it should be treated as such. I live quite close to where this occurred and the local residents here are just in complete shock. It’s been quite a traumatic experience for many of them. One or two residents actually witnessed the aftermath after they heard screaming coming from the household. They’re quite traumatised at the moment.”

Cllr Carey said he is considering trying to get help for those who witnessed the incident. “I’m considering discussing with the residents’ groups about maybe getting some support for those affected. I’ve been living here for over 40 years and I’ve never seen anything to this extent.”

His comments come as one local told us how she witnessed the victim completely engulfed in flames – as Maguire was seen desperately trying to put out the flames with his hands. The woman’s partner, Francis Maguire is well-known to gardai and was jailed back in 2021 for two years for crashing a stolen vehicle into another car and for driving dangerously in an effort to evade officers in a terrifying incident in November 2019.

He was later found to have items in the car which had been taken during a burglary at a convent earlier that night, a court heard. Garda Shane Devereux detailed to the court that the occupants of the car Maguire crashed into included a child who was seated in the back. Thankfully none of the occupants were injured, despite Maguire’s erratic driving.

The scene at the Oak Downs area of Clondalkin this afternoon.(Image: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos)

Maguire, then of Ashleigh Hall, St Edmunds, Lucan, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to using a car without the consent of its owner at Meile an Ri, Lucan and two counts of dangerous driving and driving without insurance in Lucan on November 17, 2019. He also pleaded guilty to burglary at Presentation Convent, New Road, Clondalkin between November 16-17, 2019. The court at the time heard that Maguire has 25 previous convictions to his name. The court heard how he had been caught in the Lucan area of Dublin by gardai – where he was driving a vehicle that had been stolen from the home of its owner.

Judge Melanie Greally outlined the facts of the case in sentencing, telling the court that the car being driven by Maguire was observed driving through red lights, mounting a kerb and crashing into a stationary car. Maguire was observed driving into Foxdene Avenue where he was “zig-zagging.” Maguire was easily identified as the convent burglar as well – with his DNA and items found in the car linking him back to the scene. Judge Greally noted that Maguire’s addiction was the driving force behind the offences, and noted that he was at the time engaging with local services.

A probation report however noted that he was at a high-risk of re-offending, the court heard. Judge Greally took into account Maguire’s efforts to address his addiction since 2016 and the fact that he managed to abstain from offending between 2016 and 2019.

He was handed down a two and a half years sentence with the final six months suspended on condition that he undergo 12 months probation supervision. He was also disqualified from driving for a period of five years. Defence counsel, Brian Lindsay BL, told the court that Maguire was in a hostel with adults with significant drug issues where his own difficulties began.

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