Paul Clarke and Patrick Byrne jailed for attempted robbery

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

Paul Clarke and Patrick Byrne were each jailed for five years for attempted robbery at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. The proceedings were reported on 26 July 2022.

Both pleaded guilty to attempted robbery, false imprisonment of two female customers and threatening to kill or cause serious harm to one woman. Byrne also pleaded guilty to possessing an imitation firearm.

The defence said both men had relapsed into drug use and that the raid was a desperate attempt to fund their addictions. Counsel for Clarke said no actual physical violence was carried out, while Judge Nolan said the actions were extremely frightening.