Craig Moloney pleads guilty to robbery and assault

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

Craig Moloney pleaded guilty to robbery, theft and assault causing harm at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. The proceedings were reported on 13 February 2017.

The theft and assault causing harm took place at Tom Kelly Flat Complex on 25 November 2011. The robbery took place at Spar on Clogher Road on 30 November 2011.

Judge Karen O’Connor put the matter back to April for a probation report, saying she was not ruling out a custodial sentence. The report listed sentencing for 5 May 2017.

The report said Moloney and his accomplice took €358 from the shop’s cashier. Moloney carried an iron bar and his accomplice a meat cleaver. Garda Cathal McGeoghan said he feared for his safety when the men approached the patrol car with their weapons, so he used pepper spray.

In the earlier incident, two barmen from the George Bernard Shaw pub found Moloney and another person beside their missing bicycles. The report said Moloney kicked one barman in the eye. The barmen fled to the pub, followed by the two men, who threw glass bottles around. Moloney then attacked a barman with a barstool.

When shown CCTV of himself following the barmen into the pub, Moloney said: “I didn’t follow anyone, you can’t make out my face.”

Defence counsel James Dwyer BL said Moloney was a talented footballer who had to quit because of epilepsy, leading to involvement with drink and drugs. Counsel said his client wanted to apologise to all his victims.