Courts / Dublin / Report
Violent home invaders terrorised elderly couple and their family
Summary
Three men have been sentenced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court following a violent home invasion in Monkstown, Co Dublin on August 21st, 2023. Michael Royal, Thomas Dwyer and Patrick Fitzgerald pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and false imprisonment. The court heard that four men, one of whom remains unidentified, forced their way into the family home in the early morning, restraining a man in his 70s with cable ties and removing his wife, daughter and six-year-old grandchild from their beds. During the attack, the homeowner was struck on the head with a metal bar, requiring 13 staples, and his daughter was dragged by her hair when attempting to escape. The intruders demanded information related to a bank where the victim had worked two decades earlier. Judge Martin Nolan imposed a headline sentence of ten and a half years, sentencing Royal and Fitzgerald to seven and a half years each and Dwyer to five and a half years, taking account of his comparative youth and lesser criminal history.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Violent home invaders terrorised elderly couple and their family. Charges or matters: one count of aggravated burglary and one count of false imprisonment at an address in Monkstown, Co Dublin on August 21, 2023. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- August 21, 2023 Incident
- 2025-02-04 Publication
Why: During the course of the violent home invasion, for which no motive has ever been uncovered, the man was hit on the head with a metal bar and his daughter was dragged around by her hair when she tried to escape. CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: one count of aggravated burglary and one count of false imprisonment at an address in Monkstown, Co Dublin on August 21, 2023 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: He handed down a sentence of seven and a half years to both Royal and Fitzgerald.
Defendant
Charges: one count of aggravated burglary and one count of false imprisonment at an address in Monkstown, Co Dublin on August 21, 2023 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: He handed down a sentence of seven and a half years to both Royal and Fitzgerald.
Defendant
Charges: one count of aggravated burglary and one count of false imprisonment at an address in Monkstown, Co Dublin on August 21, 2023 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Taking into account Dwyer's comparative youth and shorter conviction history, he jailed him for five and a half years.
Places mentioned
- Dublin
- Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
- Tyrone Place
- Valeview Drive
- Glenties
- Glenties Park
Topics
Burglary Stage Sentence Violent Crime
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