Court archive
Court reports mentioning Rathdrum, Wicklow
2026-04-16 · Wicklow
Cheryl Robinson, a 49-year-old accountant from Rathdrum, Co Wicklow, has been jailed for two and a half years for stealing nearly €30,000 from Foxrock Golf Club between October 2018 and July 2020. She pleaded guilty to ten charges of theft at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Robinson has a prior conviction for similar offenses, having stolen €125,000 from a former employer in 2010 and serving two years in prison. Judge Orla Crowe noted that the theft was an unsophisticated series of actions, with Robinson routinely transferring money to pay bills. She acknowledged Robinson's difficult personal circumstances, including mental health issues, and suspended 18 months of the sentence on the condition that she engage with the Probation Service. Gardaí discovered the theft during a forensic investigation into the club's accounts, revealing that Robinson had redirected payments to her own account. Robinson's defense highlighted her role as the sole carer for her three children and her lack of financial support from her former husband.
2025-12-17 · Wicklow
An accountant with a prior conviction for theft stole nearly €30,000 from Foxrock Golf Club, a court has heard. Cheryl Robinson (49) from Rathdrum, Co Wicklow, pleaded guilty to ten charges of theft between October 2018 and July 2020. She previously served a two-year jail sentence in 2010 for stealing €125,000 from a former employer, using the name Cheryl Byrne. Garda Padraig Nagle explained that staff at the golf club noticed discrepancies in the accounts and initiated a forensic investigation, which revealed that Robinson had redirected supplier payments to her own account. Although she did not admit to the theft during garda interviews, the transactions were easily identifiable. Robinson's defense, led by Ronan Kennedy SC, highlighted her personal circumstances, including her separation in 2022, sole care of her three children, and financial difficulties. She has no financial support from her ex-husband and is in arrears on her mortgage. Kennedy stated that Robinson is deeply ashamed and acknowledges her mistakes, emphasizing her efforts to support her children.
2025-12-15 · Wicklow
A 38-year-old man from Avondale Heights, Rathdrum, has been sentenced to six months in prison after being caught driving on the M50 while under seven active driving bans. Stephen O'Brien pleaded guilty at Dún Laoghaire District Court to driving without insurance and without a licence on 18 November last year. Garda Shane Hogan stated that O'Brien has 33 previous convictions, 31 of which are related to road traffic matters. Nine of these convictions are for driving without insurance and seven for driving without a licence. The court heard that O'Brien has been disqualified from driving nine times, with seven of those disqualifications currently in place. His defence solicitor, Patricia Camilon, said O'Brien works as a tree surgeon and had been relying on an unreliable driver to get to work. O'Brien has since sold his car and accepted that he should not have driven. Judge Conor Fottrell described O'Brien as a serial offender and said he had no choice but to impose a custodial sentence.
2022-05-30 · Dublin
Mary Kennedy, a 46‑year‑old former accounts worker at St Columcille's Hospital, was sentenced to two years' imprisonment for stealing more than €670,000 over a 16‑year period. Kennedy devised a fraudulent scheme that involved issuing cheques to doctors who were not actually employed by the hospital. After the hospital's computerisation in 2019, she arranged for the money to be paid into her brother‑in‑law Paul Leeson's account, who later returned the funds to her and made a €5,000 profit. Kennedy pleaded guilty to 16 counts of theft and two counts of fraud covering 2004‑2020, while Leeson pleaded guilty to one count of possessing the proceeds of crime between June 2019 and October 2020. Judge Martin Nolan, noting mitigating factors such as Kennedy's health problems, lack of prior convictions and role as a mother, imposed a two‑year sentence, which was fully suspended for Leeson.
2021-07-22 · Dublin
In the trial of Daniel Murtagh, a 34‑year‑old man accused of murdering his ex‑girlfriend Nadine Lott, witnesses testified that Murtagh told a motorist he had killed his wife because she was with his friend, and later told a paramedic he had killed his girlfriend after a car crash. The prosecution described Lott's severe blunt‑force and stab injuries, noting she never regained consciousness and died three days later. An intensive‑care nurse said Lott was "completely unrecognisable." A paramedic recalled the call as one of the most horrendous scenes he had seen. Murtagh pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter of the 30‑year‑old Lott, who died at St Vincent's Hospital. The trial, presided over by Mr Justice Michael MacGrath, continues with a jury of seven men and five women.