Man (45) pleads guilty to bogus charity collection in Wicklow
The Wicklow PeopleA Galway man has pleaded guilty to posing as a charity collector to obtain money from members of the public.
Michael Ward (45), of An Chrannóg, Loughrea, Co Galway, appeared before Arklow District Court for sentencing.
He pleaded guilty to multiple counts of making a gain or causing a loss by deception.
The court heard that on March 7, 2025, Mr Ward approached customers outside an off-licence in Arklow seeking donations.
He told members of the public that he was collecting on behalf of a charity described as ‘Lung Fibrosis Ireland’. There is no widely recognised registered charity in Ireland under that exact name.
Judge David Kennedy put Mr Ward on his election. This means the accused must choose whether to have his case dealt with in the District Court by a judge alone or sent forward to the Circuit Court for trial before a judge and jury, where more serious penalties can apply. Ward opted for the matter to be dealt with at the District Court level.
Sergeant Mick Canavan told the court that the accused has 32 previous convictions, including assault, careless driving, eight burglaries and one conviction for collecting money without a permit.
Solicitor for the accused, Pauric Hyland, said he was instructed that his client does not accept the full list of previous convictions and believes he has approximately 12.
Sgt Canavan told the court that the previous convictions were obtained through the PULSE system. PULSE is the Garda computer database used to record incidents, charges and criminal histories.
He added that the details matched the accused’s date of birth and home address.
Judge Kennedy adjourned the matter to allow the prosecution to clarify the position regarding the defendant’s previous convictions.