Courts / Dublin / Report

Drug-selling taxi driver served 'long four years' in industrial school

Date
2021-04-21

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

Patrick McCarthy, 56, a taxi driver from Dublin, pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing drugs for sale at his home and taxi. Gardaí seized €23,000 worth of cocaine, including €8,000 in the taxi, €4,550 in the vehicle, and €15,000 in a safe in his bedroom. McCarthy admitted transporting drugs in his taxi to pay off debts from his own addiction, and that he had used the proceeds to buy more cocaine. He had no prior convictions and had led a blameless life before the arrest. Judge Martin Nolan, citing McCarthy's cooperation and the absence of a custodial sentence, imposed a three‑year suspended sentence. The court noted McCarthy's past industrial school detention and his recent engagement in drug treatment, concluding he would not re‑appear in court.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Drug-selling taxi driver served 'long four years' in industrial school. Charges or matters: two charges of having drugs for sale or supply at his home and on the Davitt Road on August 22, 2019. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

August 22, 2019 Incident
1977 to 1981 Incident
2021-04-21 Publication

Case subjects

Patrick McCarthy

Defendant

Charges: two charges of having drugs for sale or supply at his home and on the Davitt Road on August 22, 2019 (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: Patrick McCarthy's (56) detention in an industrial school in Tipperary in the 1970s would have been "a very tough four years" and similar to serving a prison sentence. "I suspect his stay there was not easy. He said given the fact that the man had led a blameless life prior to his arrest for selling cocaine, his co-operation with the garda investigation and his admissions, he didn't deserve a custodial sentence before he suspended a three-year sentence in full.