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Dad who held drugs to pay for funeral in 'act of desperation' avoids jail
Summary
Stephen Berrigan, a 44‑year‑old father of two from St Mark's Crescent, Clondalkin, pleaded guilty to possession of heroin and cannabis for sale or supply at his address on 25 August 2019. He agreed to store over €178,000 worth of drugs in two vans in his driveway after his father's funeral bill of €7,000 left him in financial distress. The drugs were seized by Gardaí, who found two bricks of heroin and three packs of cannabis in the vans, with no drugs in Berrigan's home. He had no prior convictions. Judge Melanie Greally, hearing the case at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, sentenced him to five years imprisonment, fully suspended on strict conditions, citing his intense grief and the "act of desperation" that led him to criminality. The sentence was imposed while acknowledging the value of the drugs and the likelihood of no reoffending. The case remains at the sentencing stage.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Dad who held drugs to pay for funeral in 'act of desperation' avoids jail. Charges or matters: possession of cannabis and heroin for sale or supply at his address on August 25, 2019. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- August 25, 2019 Incident
- July 2019 Incident
- 2021-02-23 Publication
Why: Credit: Collins) A father-of-two who agreed to hold over €178,000 of heroin and cannabis because he needed money to pay for his father's funeral has received a fully suspended sentence. CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: possession of cannabis and heroin for sale or supply at his address on August 25, 2019 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Passing sentence today, Judge Melanie Greally said Berrigan was "in the throes of intense grief" when he made the decision to involve himself in criminality and that this decision was made "purely to finance part of his father's funeral". Judge Greally sentenced Berrigan to five years imprisonment, but suspended the entirety of the sentence on strict conditions.
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