Anthony Foody’s criminal damage appeal dismissed

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

Anthony Foody’s appeal against a three-year sentence for criminal damage was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 9 June 2016.

He was sentenced on 29 October 2015 to three years’ imprisonment, with the final 18 months suspended for five years after release, conditional on entering a bond in the sum of 100 to keep the peace for five years.

On 19 May 2015, Foody broke through a door into the porch of an occupied private house in Ballina, County Mayo. A locked internal door prevented access to the main house, and gardaí arrived promptly. The report described him as severely intoxicated and incoherent.

He pleaded guilty and was convicted at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court on 13 October 2015 of one count of criminal damage contrary to section 2(1) of the Criminal Damage Act 1991.

His appeal argued that insufficient weight had been given to his remorse, alcohol addiction, early guilty plea, co-operation with gardaí, the absence of violence or threatening behaviour, and compensation made available to the victim.

Mr. Justice Mahon held that the occupied private residence was an aggravating factor. The court found no error of principle and held that the sentence was within the sentencing judge’s discretion, given Foody’s very poor offending record and unpromising rehabilitation prospects.