Catherine Byrne given suspended sentence after drug supply and shotgun pleas

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

Catherine Byrne received a five-year prison sentence, suspended in full, at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. The proceedings were reported on 29 July 2019.

Byrne pleaded guilty to possession of drugs for sale or supply at her Ballyfermot home. She and her co-accused, Robert Yeates, also pleaded guilty to possession of a shotgun. Both offences occurred on 29 May 2018.

Garda Sergeant Darren Coller said gardaí saw Yeates put a long box in the boot of a car driven by Byrne, who was accompanied by her two grandchildren. Gardaí later stopped Byrne and found a shotgun in the box. A subsequent search of her home uncovered mixing agent, cocaine and heroin with a combined value of €192,640.

Sgt Coller agreed that Byrne became involved to pay off her daughter’s drug debt. Her barrister, Paul Carroll SC, said Byrne had been threatened over the debt and that some threats mentioned her grandchildren.

Judge Martin Nolan said Byrne’s culpability was low and that she had feared harm to her daughter. He said he could accept that she believed the box contained drugs rather than a firearm.

Judge Nolan also sentenced Yeates to three and a half years in prison, suspended in full on condition that he keep the peace and be of good behaviour for three and a half years. Detective Garda Donal Donoghue told the court that Yeates said he had delivered the box to pay his own drug debt and did not know its contents, although he suspected it might contain a gun.