Michael McDonagh jailed for 15 months for stealing 78-year-old woman's handbag

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

Michael McDonagh (58), of Kylemore Avenue, Ballyfermot, Dublin, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for stealing a handbag containing €2 from a 78-year-old woman. He pleaded guilty to one count of theft outside an Applegreen service station in Dublin 8 on November 9th, 2020.

The court heard McDonagh has 83 previous convictions. A garda told the court the woman said two men approached her and asked for her purse, and that McDonagh and a co-accused took the handbag, which held only €2. Minutes later, Gardaí saw a man matching McDonagh's description changing out of his jacket, and he was arrested.

Judge Martin Nolan said McDonagh has a long history of offending and of homelessness. The judge accepted that he had shown remorse, had entered a guilty plea and that no violence was involved, but said he had to endure a custodial term.

Defence counsel Anne Fitzgibbons BL said McDonagh had been homeless for 10-15 years and has since been provided with housing through Housing First. She said he has not come to the attention of Gardaí since he entered residential treatment in 2023.