Man who set fire to vehicles at Cork Airport Business Park jailed for three years

A cigarette lighter was found in the pocket of a man hiding in the luggage area under a bus shortly after he had set fire to three other vehicles near Cork Airport. Now he has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Judge Sinéad Behan sentenced the accused man to four years in prison with the last year of that sentence suspended at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

Mateusz Stula (33) was suffering from depression at the time and was abusing alcohol. This combination left him in a position where he was not aware of what he was doing, defence barrister, Brian Leahy said.

An aggravating factor in the case was that he was only out of prison for one month after serving a sentence for arson on three vehicles at Cork Airport Business Park.

Detective Sergeant Pat Lyons testified at Cork Circuit Criminal Court that Mateusz Stula was “found concealed in the luggage area of the bus parked nearby,” shortly after the arsons occurred.

Mateusz Stula of Orchard Court, Blackpool, Cork, admitted causing over €118,000 worth of arson damage to three vehicles parked at Cork Airport Business Park in the early hours of June 10, 2025.

Det Sgt Lyons said that at approximately 1.15am the defendant entered the grounds of Cork Airport Business Park where he set fire to three vehicles parked there. He had been working at the hotel in the area.

“One of these vehicles was a Swissport Airline waste removal tanker which has an approximate value of €100,000. A Volkswagen Camper was privately owned and had been parked at the business park while the owner was abroad. A third vehicle was a privately owned animal transporter truck which had been dropped to the business park for repairs.

“The incidents of arson in this instance have been captured on CCTV footage."

In each case he sat into the driver's seat of the vehicle and set fire to the seating area until flames engulfed the vehicles. When he was found hiding in the bus he had a cigarette lighter in his pocket.

He told gardaí at interview that when he was working that evening in the hotel kitchen he began drinking vodka. He could offer no explanation for his actions.

He had been released from prison a month earlier, having served a three-month sentence for setting fire to an apartment that was in the process of being built. He caused €20,000 worth of damage that time.

A psychiatric report on Mr Stula was presented to the court for the sentencing hearing.

Judge Behan backdated the sentence to June 11, 2025 when he went into custody.