Kia O’Connor jailed for robbery of New Zealand tourists

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

Kia O’Connor was jailed for two and a half years at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 19 February 2025 for robbing two tourists from New Zealand. The robbery took place in Dublin City Centre on 8 June 2024.

O’Connor pleaded guilty to robbery. The proceedings were reported on 19 February 2025.

The court heard that the tourists were sitting outside the Belvedere Hotel when O’Connor and her co-accused, Joseph Boyle, approached and asked for €20. When they said they had no money, Boyle produced a knife and pointed it at the male tourist. An investigating garda said O’Connor took an iPhone, a Kindle and a wallet containing identification from the female tourist’s bag.

Gardaí tracked the phone to Moore Street, where they found O’Connor and Boyle. All the stolen property was recovered except the wallet, which contained no cash. O’Connor made full admissions but insisted no knife was involved. The garda agreed with defence counsel Aidan McCarthy that she was protecting Boyle and did not know he had already made admissions.

McCarthy said O’Connor had been drug-free in custody and had been assessed for a drugs treatment programme. A letter of apology was handed to the court. Judge Martin Nolan noted her previous convictions as an aggravating factor, but also her early guilty plea and progress in custody.

O’Connor had 67 previous convictions. In January 2025, she was sentenced to one year in custody after pleading guilty to violent disorder in a separate incident. Boyle received a three-and-a-half-year sentence for his role in the robbery the previous month.