Knife-wielding robber jailed for seven years after terrifying Wicklow shop worker
The Wicklow PeopleA Bray man who held a shop worker at knifepoint during a failed robbery has been jailed for seven years, after also admitting a burglary at a Bray takeaway weeks earlier.
Fionn O’Brien (26), of Ashlawn Court, Bray, appeared before Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court for sentencing, after pleading guilty to one count of burglary and one count of robbery.
A garda from Bray Garda Station testified that on February 11, 2025, gardaí received a report of a burglary at the Regal Fast Takeaway in Bray.
When gardaí arrived, they found the front glass window smashed and observed a man inside the premises, who then fled through the back door.
Mr O’Brien was located nearby. He was arrested and questioned, where nothing of a probative nature arose.
Counsel for the prosecution, James Kelly, said CCTV footage showed the burglar wearing the same clothing as the accused, with Mr O’Brien pleading guilty on July 8, 2025.
His barrister, instructed by solicitor Joe Maguire, said that his client is “known in the local area”, with the damage caused during the burglary valued at €200.
Detective Garda Byrne gave evidence that on Thursday, March 13, 2025, the defendant entered a Circle K wearing blue gloves and brandishing a large kitchen knife, before demanding money from a shop worker.
Mr O’Brien told the shop worker: “Give me the money, give me the fucking money.”
The court heard that Mr O’Brien failed to obtain any money because the tills were time locked. It was noted that the shop worker was alone in the store at the time.
Gardaí tracked the accused’s movements using CCTV footage, where they observed him removing his face covering.
He was arrested in April 2025, where he made admissions after being shown footage of himself discarding his clothes in a bin in a nearby graveyard.
Mr Kelly informed the court that Mr O’Brien has 40 previous convictions for burglary, escaping from custody, assault causing harm, using a phone in prison and entering a premises with intent to commit an offence.
A victim impact statement from the Circle K shop worker was read to the court by Mr Kelly.
The complainant said she had been working on Thursday, March 13, by chance and that the incident “frightened the life out of me”.
She told the court she had no access to the tills and feared she was going to be stabbed. Mr Kelly said she still finds it very difficult to get the image of the robbery out of her head.
Mr O’Brien was on bail for burglary when he committed the robbery and had also been given a suspended two-year prison sentence by now retired judge, Terence O Sullivan.
He read a letter to the court in which he apologised for his actions and accepted full responsibility for the offending.
“I wanted to come to this box with understanding,” he said. “I take full responsibility.”
Mr O’Brien said he had been diagnosed with ADHD and struggled to control his anger. He told the court he had grown up in care and “was never shown any care”.
Mr O’Brien claimed he suffered a nervous breakdown at the age of 20, causing him to lose his hair, and also spoke of losing his mother following her own battle with addiction.
The accused told the court he had attended recovery meetings and had been doing well for five months before falling in with “the wrong house and the wrong crowd” and relapsing.
Judge Sinéad Ní Chúlacháin noted that, for the victim, the robbery was “more frightening” because the accused was armed with a knife. The judge also noted his claim that he “had no intention of hurting anyone”.
Mr O’Brien left school at the age of 10 and is currently studying at Level 3 while in custody.
In her judgement, Judge Ní Chúlacháin dealt separately with the burglary at the Regal Fair Takeaway and the robbery at the Circle K.
Turning to the robbery on March 13, Judge Ní Chúlacháin said the offending had “terrified” the shop worker.
The judge took into account Mr O’Brien’s admissions during interview, his guilty pleas and the remorse he expressed after being shown CCTV footage.
She said it was clear from his demeanour before the court that he was genuinely sorry for his actions.
Judge Ní Chúlacháin also considered the victim impact statement of the Circle K worker and the lasting effect the robbery had on her.
The judge imposed an overall sentence of seven years imprisonment, directing that it run consecutively to his existing sentence, which triggered the activation of the suspended sentence.
However, she suspended the final four years of the sentence to allow Mr O’Brien to engage with support services. The sentence was backdated to the date he entered custody.
Mr O’Brien was directed to enter into a bond, engage with the Probation Service and continue engaging with addiction and rehabilitation services.
The following day, the court heard that Courts Service staff had located the original copy of the suspended sentence, which confirmed that Mr O’Brien was liable to serve a two-year re-entry sentence.
Judge Ní Chúlacháin re-suspended the suspended sentence for a period of five years.