Paul McDonagh jailed for burglary after appeal

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

Paul McDonagh was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment by the Court of Criminal Appeal on 2 October 2013 for burglary, threats to kill and assault causing harm. The last two years were suspended on condition that he behaved well and co-operated with a management plan while in prison.

He had originally received nine years, with three years suspended, from Judge Martin Nolan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in December 2011 after pleading guilty to making threats to kill, assault of the woman causing harm and burglary of her home in Marino, Dublin, committed on 8 June 2010. The proceedings were reported on 3 October 2013.

The report said McDonagh gained access to the 97-year-old woman’s home by offering to tidy her gardens, held his hand over her mouth with enough force to cut her lip, repeatedly threatened to kill her and fled with her purse. Counsel for the DPP said his guilty plea came only after the victim had given a deposition at the District Court, while also referring to slight mitigating factors in his favour. Chief Justice Susan Denham said the Court of Criminal Appeal regarded the offence as being of the utmost gravity and considered the original sentence a substantial departure from an appropriate sentence.