2020-06-24 · Dublin
Serial burglar gets 12-year sentence for 'gross violation' of family home
In a Howth burglary on 13 December 2013, Declan Murphy (53) and two accomplices forced entry into a mother's home, tying the woman and her eight‑year‑old daughter with cable ties and ransacking the house. They stole €27,000 in cash and over €30,000 in jewellery, then fled in the victim's 4×4, which was later abandoned with a flat tyre. CCTV and DNA linked the crime to a white van owned by the late Eamon Brennan (35) and to Murphy. The case was heard at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, where Murphy initially pleaded not guilty but later pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and two false imprisonment charges. Judge Pauline Codd imposed a 12‑year prison term, suspended the final year, and noted Murphy's drug‑addiction history and prior 157 convictions, including 38 for burglary. The sentence was suspended for three years on condition of good behaviour and engagement with Probation Services.