Tradesman branded ‘cowboy’ by judge after shower risked electrocuting great-grandmother

A Dublin tradesman has been ordered to pay €7,350 after a judge heard he installed a shower that risked electrocuting a great-grandmother.Damien Nicholson, with an address at Hollystown Park, Hollystown, Dublin 15, was summoned to appear at Dublin District Court by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU).The watchdog investigated works carried out by him at Margaret Brogan’s home in Malahide between March 26th and March 29th, 2024, after she paid him €12,000.This led to two charges against Nicholson for carrying out works without being a registered gas installer or electrical contractor, contrary to the Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006.READ MORENicholson was convicted in his absence on Monday and ordered to pay fines totalling €1,500, along with €5,850 in legal costs.Prosecution solicitor Shane Reynolds said the accused had failed to appear for the hearing and had also not attended on previous dates when the case was listed.Giving evidence to the court, the complainant told Judge Anthony Halpin that Nicholson had been recommended to her and was already known to her family.She asked him to install a walk-in electric shower as part of the home improvements and told the court she personally witnessed him carrying out both electrical and gas work.Brogan told the court Nicholson drove her to the bank with the money. She said the clerk expressed concern about the transactions, but she reassured staff it was okay because he was a family friend.However, she later noticed a sound coming from her hot press immersion tank, which had developed a leak. When she called him about the issue, he told her: “Oh no, it’s not from what I’ve done. It’s your power unit in your bathroom is gone. So I will have to replace it.”The court heard Nicholson also replaced radiators with electric ones, powered using extension leads, after telling Brogan she needed to replace the gun-barrel pipes on her old radiators, which were blocked.“I had the shower unit checked and it turned out we could have been electrocuted having a shower,” the witness said.Halpin branded the accused “some cowboy”.He considered issuing a bench warrant for Nicholson. However, following an application by Reynolds, he moved to finalise the case, convicting the accused in his absence and ordering him to pay the fine and costs within three months.