Andrew Shannon convicted over stolen Carton House books

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

A jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court found Andrew Shannon (51) guilty of possessing 67 stolen antique books from Carton House in Kildare. The proceedings were reported on 2 February 2016.

Shannon, whose address was given as Willans Way, Ongar, Dublin, pleaded not guilty. The charge concerned possession at his home on 3 March 2007, knowing the books were stolen or being reckless about whether they were stolen.

The collection included a rare King James Bible edition dating from 1660. The books disappeared after being stored while the house was restored. Gardaí said a subsequent search of Shannon’s home uncovered them. He told investigators he had paid about Irl£300 for them at a fair or fete and used them as household decoration.

Conor Mallaghan told the court he discovered books were missing in 2006 as they were being returned to the library. He said he recognised books shown in court by the FitzGerald family crest. His evidence was that his family had neither sold nor lent the books, and only the storage company had permission to take them away.

The trial lasted five days. Jurors reached their verdict unanimously after deliberating for just under four hours. Judge Petria McDonnell asked Carton House’s owners to submit a victim-impact report ahead of a sentencing hearing expected in April 2016.