John O’Donoghue jailed for 11 years and Paul Whelan for 10 years six months over loaded gun in Limerick

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

John O’Donoghue, 29, was jailed for 11 years and Paul Whelan, 25, for ten years and six months by the Special Criminal Court for possessing a loaded 9mm Colt semi-automatic pistol with intent to endanger life at Park Road, Limerick. Both men are from Moyross. Their sentences were backdated to the date they went into custody.

Ms Justice Tara Burns, sitting with Judge Patricia Ryan and Judge Flann Brennan, set a headline sentence of 12 years for each man and reduced it after considering mitigating circumstances. For the lesser charges of possession of a firearm and ammunition in suspicious circumstances, she imposed a five-year sentence on each man.

Armed gardaí had stopped the men in a car and found a loaded handgun, a petrol canister, latex gloves, clothes and cocaine. The judge said the handgun was loaded with eight rounds and that the men were part of a carefully planned operation. She said the court did not know what the ultimate plan was, but that this did not take away from the very serious nature of the offence.

The non-jury, three-judge court had earlier found both men guilty. The judge noted that the men admitted the lesser firearm charge, which she treated as a mitigating factor.