It has emerged that this is not the first time the woman’s family have been hit with tragedy – after she lost her brother a number of years ago in a brutal crash that saw his body badly burned
19:51, 27 Nov 2025Updated 20:39, 27 Nov 2025
The scene at Oak Downs, Clondalkin(Image: SAM BOAL/Collins Photos)
A woman who is still fighting for life after being set on fire previously lost a brother in a horrific incident in which he burned to death.
The 43-year-old mother-of-two, is still being treated for over 60 per cent burns to her body after a thug doused her in an accelerant and set her on fire at the front door of her home in Oak Downs, Clondalkin, west Dublin on Tuesday morning. Now it has emerged that this is not the first time the woman’s family have been hit with tragedy – after she lost her brother a number of years ago in a brutal crash that saw his body badly burned.
Her 23-year-old brother was killed instantly in a horrific collision that was reported on at the time and also claimed the life of a 34-year-old man. Reports at the time outlined how the badly burned bodies of the two men made the task of identifying them difficult for investigating gardai.
It is understood that devastated family members of the woman have been by her bedside and have called her a ‘warrior’ as she continues to fight for life. Gardai are in the meantime working on CCTV footage in an effort to try and identify a man who fled the scene of the attack on an e-scooter shortly after 10.10am on Tuesday morning.
Her partner, convicted burglar Francis Maguire (49), is believed to have been the primary target of a disgruntled drugs gang operating in the area. The savage gang who attacked his girlfriend also attempted to douse Maguire – who is understood to have ducked most of the accelerant. A number of men turned up at Maguire’s home the previous afternoon, and gardai were alerted to claims of them brandishing knives. 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 this paper 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.
Francis Maguire(Image: Collins Courts)
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 yesterday 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.
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.
The scene at the Oak Downs area of Clondalkin this afternoon.(Image: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos)
Oak Downs, Clondalkin. (Image: Google Maps )
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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