Damien Long and Damian Fitzgerald jailed for robbery of 93-year-old woman in Cork

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

Damien Long and Damian Fitzgerald were each sentenced to nine years in prison for robbing a 93-year-old woman in Cork. Judge Helen Boyle sentenced the men at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

Both men pleaded guilty to robbery after a jury had been selected. The proceedings were reported on 9 May 2023.

The robbery took place on Charlemont Terrace on 9 November 2022, after the woman had collected her pension. Detective Inspector Denis Lynch told the court that she tried to hold on to her handbag and saw two men. One ran off while the other continued pulling at the bag; she fell and one of the men ran off with it.

The woman sustained multiple pelvic fractures and needed 24-hour care. Her victim impact statement described the pain and loss of independence she suffered. The report said she had since made significant progress and was walking with the aid of a walker.

Long’s defence counsel, Jane Hyland SC, said he had played a lesser role and was not the person who pulled the woman to the ground. She said he suffered from drug addiction. Fitzgerald’s counsel, Seamus Roche SC, said his client had significant addiction issues involving heroin and crack cocaine.

Judge Boyle described the offence as being at the higher end of robbery. She said Long had played a lesser role but that it remained a joint enterprise, and noted that he had committed the robbery while on a suspended sentence for another offence.

This report covers an earlier stage of the case. Later developments are not reported here.