The Court of Appeal has increased the sentence imposed on John McDonagh for aggravated burglary, finding that the original sentence was unduly lenient. It quashed the original sentence and imposed seven years’ imprisonment, with the final 18 months suspended for two years from his release, subject to conditions including probation supervision.
The Director of Public Prosecutions brought the application under section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993. McDonagh had pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and burglary. The original sentence for aggravated burglary was five and a half years, with the final two years suspended; a concurrent three-and-a-half-year term had been imposed for burglary. Only the aggravated-burglary sentence was under review.
The court heard that the offence took place at a rented house in Sligo town in January 2020. Four people were inside. The judgment says McDonagh and a co-accused entered while armed with knives, threatened the occupants, damaged the house and a car outside, and took property. One occupant was struck by the door as the men forced it against her while entering. The court described the victims’ impact as severe and the property damage as gratuitous.
The Director argued that the sentencing judge had set too low a starting sentence given the weapons, threats, night-time entry into an occupied home, injury and damage. The respondent disputed that the offence belonged in the highest category and opposed the Director’s separate argument about credit for time served on unrelated sentences.
The appeal court said the sentencing judge had erred by setting a seven-year headline sentence in light of the aggravating factors. It did not, however, adopt the Director’s proposed sentence above nine years. The court set a notional headline sentence of ten years, then reduced it to seven years after considering the guilty plea, personal circumstances and rehabilitation efforts in custody. It said the respondent had 35 previous convictions, but none relevant to aggravating this offence.
The court suspended the final 18 months for two years from release, on usual conditions and on condition that McDonagh remain under Probation Service supervision and comply with its directions. The judgment does not state a separate determination of the Director’s second ground about sentence backdating.