Grace Tormey, aged 22, was convicted by a jury of aggravated burglary and assault after a four‑day trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. She was found guilty of attacking Lisa Lee, a partially paralysed woman who had suffered a stroke, by striking her with a wine bottle and assaulting her for up to three minutes. Tormey had 15 prior convictions, including two assault offences. The judge, Patricia Ryan, imposed a seven‑year sentence, suspending the final two and a half years, citing Tormey's young age and family circumstances. Tormey pleaded not guilty, later wrote a letter expressing regret, and was described by her defence as having a "wild and uncontrolled" period before becoming a mother. The case involved a burglary at Rollins Villas, Sallynoggin, on 16 November 2012. The victim's partner, Jason Kelly, had fled the scene, and the victim's injuries were documented by Gardaí.
Edward Charles O'Reilly of Wheatfield Grove, Clondalkin, Dublin, pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to an aggravated burglary at Deansrath Avenue, Clondalkin, on 11 May 2013. He is accused of using a slash hook as a weapon during the burglary. O'Reilly also denied two assault charges against Edward O'Reilly and Michael McDonagh that occurred in the same incident. The trial will open tomorrow before Judge Karen O'Connor and a jury of five men and seven women.
In February 2016, Gerard Halpin, aged 40, was sentenced to six and a half years in prison at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for robbing the beauty salon Urban Dolls on 23 December 2014 and for a burglary on 19 December 2013. The court heard that Halpin entered the salon wearing latex gloves and a kitchen knife, grabbed owner Sarah White by the neck, and forced her to open the till. Emma Kelly, a customer who recognised him, stopped the robbery by smashing a Yankee candle over his head. Halpin fled, but Kelly chased him to his father's home, where he was found changing clothes. Garda Adrian Kildea reported that a search of the house uncovered the gloves in an open safe. Halpin, who has 38 prior convictions and a history of drug abuse, denied the robbery and claimed he had only left the house once that day to go to the pharmacy. Gerard Halpin pleaded guilty.
A 16‑year‑old orphan was sentenced to three years' detention after he was caught with jewellery stolen from a 90‑year‑old woman during a "terrifying" raid. The victim had been awakened by a man pointing a knife at her, demanding money, and then taking her watch and rings. Gardaí found the teenager hiding under a duvet with the stolen items and, after he whispered to his uncle where he had left them, the jewellery was recovered and returned. The teenager pleaded guilty to handling stolen jewellery on 6 April 2015. He had 10 prior convictions, including a nine‑year sentence for an aggravated burglary in Wicklow, of which five years were suspended. The judge noted his disadvantaged background and, recognising his youth and high IQ, imposed a three‑year term with the suspended portion intended to encourage rehabilitation.
John Stokes, 25, of Beachside, Riverchapel, Gorey, was jailed for five and a half years for a series of violent and theft offences. He first threatened a woman, Mary Kate McDonagh, with a crossbow in December 2014, then robbed a handbag from a woman in Ballsbridge in January 2015, and again stole a handbag from an elderly lady in Baggot Street in February 2015. Stokes had 48 prior convictions, mainly for traffic offences but also for theft, robbery, false imprisonment, burglary and knife possession. He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Judge Melanie Greally sentenced him to five and a half years, suspending the final 18 months on the condition he engage with the Probation Service for two years. The sentence reflected the seriousness of each offence and Stokes' history of drug use and lack of post‑release supervision.
Jonathan O'Neill, 24, of Kilmore, Dublin, pleaded guilty to robbery and aggravated burglary at Clonalvy Post Office, County Meath, on 21 November 2012. He was sentenced to six years' imprisonment on both counts, to run concurrently, by Judge Michael O'Shea on 13 November 2014. The Court of Appeal, hearing the appeal on 22 February 2016, dismissed it, ruling that the judge had considered all mitigating factors. The case involved two men armed with knives who entered the post office at about 9.40 am, threatened an elderly employee and a woman in her late 80s, demanded money from a cash delivery, and later forced entry into a house, demanding car keys. The men stole a car, which crashed, and fled on foot. The post office employee was deeply traumatised and did not return to work. O'Neill's history of drug addiction and a prior drug‑possession conviction were noted.
A 22‑year‑old burglar, Gerry Wall, was caught on CCTV attempting to exchange a stolen jar of 50‑cent coins for notes at a petrol station next to the house he had broken into. Wall and an accomplice also stole jewellery worth €4,030 and the coins, valued at €58. None of the property was recovered. The burglary took place at a house on Hyde Road, Dalkey, on 9 September 2014, and the house suffered €2,315 of damage. The court heard that several rooms were ransacked and that the homeowner's back‑door window and a window above the sink were smashed. Garda Kevin Carey recovered the CCTV footage, identified the men, and later arrested Wall at his home. The case was adjourned to 27 April for finalisation, with a plea in mitigation to be heard. The judge warned Wall that he was approaching the end of lenient treatment. Gerry Wall pleaded guilty.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, Judge Melanie Greally sentenced a 16‑year‑old boy to two and a half years' detention for burglary at The Avenue, Belgard Heights, Tallaght, on 7 June 2015. The teenager, whose name is withheld, had pleaded guilty and had prior convictions for burglary and drug possession. He and an accomplice were found hiding under a blanket in the house they had broken into. The judge noted the boy had no adult supervision since his mother's death five years earlier and no one in court to support him. She imposed the custodial term with an 18‑month suspended period, subject to strict conditions including engagement with the Probation Service and attendance at any recommended alcohol or drug therapy. The judge expressed hope that the custodial environment would provide the stability needed for the boy's future rehabilitation. The co‑accused has since taken a bench warrant.
Christpher Dunne, 29, of Kilcronan Court, Clondalkin, pleaded guilty to burglary at Old Chapel Wood, Naas, on 15 March 2011. He was sentenced on 25 July 2014 to five years imprisonment, with the final 12 months suspended. Dunne had 125 previous convictions, 97 of which pre‑dated the offence, and was a father of three and an addict of heroin at the time. During the burglary he threatened to behead a garda while escaping, and had a baseball bat that he swung at the officer. The Court of Appeal, in a three‑judge panel, held that the sentence was proportionate and just, dismissing Dunne's appeal. The judge noted the offence was an "egregious burglary" involving baseball bats, screwdrivers and vice grips, and that the maximum sentence for burglary is 14 years. The suspended year was intended to incentivise rehabilitation. The appeal was dismissed.
Daniel Wall, a 23‑year‑old boxer from Tallaght, pleaded guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing harm after attacking Gerard Dempsey with a knife on 10 February 2014. The judge ordered Wall to pay €1,100 to the victim before sentencing. Wall received a four‑year sentence, with the final two years suspended on strict conditions. The judge noted Wall's boxing background and his mother's terminal cancer, taking these into account. Wall claimed the attack was unprovoked, while the victim said it was retaliatory. Wall had 57 prior convictions, including robbery and burglary. After the hearing, Wall announced he would fire his legal team, calling the sentence "bollox.".
Two cousins, Edward Wall (43) and Patrick Wall (36), were jailed after pleading guilty to burglary at The Park, Highlands, Drogheda, Co. Louth, on 31 October 2014, and to attempted burglary at Gainstown, Co. Meath, on the same date. Both were pursued by the Emergency Response Unit after a car, carrying house‑breaking tools and stolen items, fled from a silver Mazda. The car collided with Garda vehicles; Edward escaped but was arrested, while Patrick was taken from the rear by an armed Garda. The court imposed four‑year sentences on each, suspending the final year, and ordered €500 from each to be paid to the burglary victim. The defendants' prior convictions and the details of the burglary, including the €4,600 damage and the missing €349 Armani watch, were noted in the proceedings. The defendants offered €3,000 each as tokens of remorse. The case was heard at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
A 43‑year‑old man from Templeogue, Aidan Quigley, was remanded on bail pending sentencing after pleading guilty to two burglary and one attempted burglary offences committed between June 2014 and May 2015. He had 41 prior convictions, 21 of them for burglary, and had been on bail for each offence before the court heard the latest. Gardaí accepted that Quigley only broke into unoccupied houses to fund a heroin addiction, and that all stolen items were returned to their owners while he was still in possession of them. His barrister, Luigi Rea BL, argued that Quigley had become a father of three, lost his job after his youngest daughter's death, and had increased drug use, leading to burglary. Rea said Quigley had stopped using heroin and methadone in July of the previous year and had not committed any further burglaries since May 2015.
Patrick McDonagh, 26, of Balbriggan, was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for causing serious harm to Garda Ciaran Murrihy on 29 August 2015. McDonagh pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment, assaulting Garda Stephen Hughes and Garda Vincent Turley, unlawful use of a vehicle and criminal damage. The seven‑year term was imposed for the most serious charge, with a concurrent sentence of three and a half years for assaulting Garda Hughes. The sentences run from 31 August 2015, the date McDonagh entered custody. Garda Murrihy, who is now wheelchair‑bound, described the incident in his victim impact statement, saying the attack left him feeling "useless" and that McDonagh had "stole my life". McDonagh has 19 prior convictions, including drunk driving, robbery and aggravated burglary. The case was heard at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Karl McDermott, a 19‑year‑old from Ratoath Avenue, Finglas, was sentenced by Judge Sarah Berkeley at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two years in prison for possession of a stolen car and its keys, with the final year suspended on strict conditions. McDermott pleaded guilty to the offence that occurred on St Helena's Road on 30 June 2015. He had 40 prior convictions, including burglary and interfering with a car. The stolen vehicle was a Toyota Yaris, taken from its owner by two men on 29 June 2015 and later abandoned on Tolka Valley Road. McDermott was found heavily intoxicated, resisted Garda questioning, and had attempted self‑harm in the station. He had recently lost his brother in Mountjoy prison, a factor noted by the defence. The judge described him as a danger to himself and to the public, but acknowledged the difficult circumstances surrounding his brother's death. The sentence was imposed with the final year suspended.
Thomas Plunkett, 44, of Markievicz House, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to burglary of St Patrick's Credit Union, Herbert Place, attempted burglary at Merrion Square and assault of Garda Paul Carroll at Pearse Street Garda Station on Easter Monday, April 21, 2014. He was remanded in custody pending sentence. Plunkett was caught with a laptop and overhead projector belonging to the credit union a short distance from where he had tried to break into a Merrion Square home. Garda Barry Moran said Plunkett, who had cuts and blood on his face, neck and hands, initially claimed he didn't know what was in the two bags that he'd been trying to hide. He then co‑operated and showed gardaí the credit union's smashed rear window, but later turned aggressive when officers took his phone. Plunkett refused to switch off his phone on the way to the garda station and became aggressive after it was taken from him.
Grace Tormey, aged 22, was remanded in custody after a jury found her guilty of assaulting Lisa Lee, a partially paralysed woman who had suffered a stroke, during an aggravated burglary at Rollins Villas, Sallynoggin, on 16 November 2012. Lee reported that she awoke to hear banging on her front door and that she and her partner, Jason Kelly, had barricaded themselves in an upstairs bedroom. Tormey and an unidentified man forced entry, and the attackers entered the bedroom, kicking and punching Lee, who was lying on the ground due to her paralysis. Lee claimed that Tormey smashed a wine bottle over her head, kicked, punched and pulled hair. Gardaí found Tormey "apparently attending" to Lee's wounds, but she denied burglary and claimed she had come to help. After a four‑day trial and 1½ hours of deliberation, a jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict. Grace Tormey pleaded not guilty.
The trial of 22‑year‑old Grace Tormey, accused of assaulting a partially paralysed woman with a wine bottle during an aggravated burglary, heard that DNA from the bottle matched Tormey's. Tormey pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for the burglary at Rollins Villas, Sallynoggin, on 16 November 2012. The alleged victim, Lisa Lee, had suffered a stroke and was partially paralysed. Lee told prosecutor Gerardine Small that she could not hold the door and that Tormey and an unidentified man entered her bedroom, kicking and punching her. Lee said the attackers pulled out a knife and Tormey smashed a wine bottle over her head, also kicking, punching and pulling hair. Dr Linda Williams of Forensic Science Ireland analysed a blood sample from the bottle and found a mixed DNA sample. She stated it was highly likely, to a factor of one to a billion, that the DNA matched Tormey and Lee.
Grace Tormey, 22, is on trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for aggravated burglary and assault at Rollins Villas, Sallynoggin, on 16 November 2012. She pleaded not guilty. According to the trial, Lisa Lee, a partially paralysed woman who had suffered a stroke, was asleep in a downstairs bedroom when she heard banging on the front door at about four a.m. Lee and her partner Jason Kelly barricaded themselves in an upstairs bedroom. Lee reported that voices shouted threats and that men entered the house. Lee said a man and a woman, who identified themselves as Grace Tormey and an unnamed male, attacked her by kicking and punching. Lee claimed the attacker used a knife and smashed a wine bottle over her head, and that Tormey pulled lumps out of her hair. Lee was bleeding with facial injuries when Garda Garvin Alan arrived.
Richard Mansfield, 21, of Tallaght, pleaded guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two endangerment charges, taking a vehicle and dangerous driving after stealing a BMW. He admitted smoking cannabis before driving. Mansfield performed a handbrake turn into oncoming rush‑hour traffic on the Tallaght Bypass on 7 January 2015, accelerating at high speed across three lanes and narrowly missing a patrol car and pedestrians. Garda Alan Young arrested him after a chase. Mansfield had 60 prior convictions, including dangerous driving, burglary and drug possession. Judge Melanie Greally sentenced him to four and a half years, suspending the last 18 months, and disqualified him from driving for four years. The suspended portion is conditional on probation for two years after release. The sentence reflects the serious risk posed to many people, including Gardaí, during the incident.
Patrick Healy, 31, of Buttercup Park, Darndale, was sentenced to 15 years in jail, with the final five years suspended, for a series of violent and dangerous driving offences committed between 2011 and 2013. He pleaded guilty to assaulting a man on the North Circular Road, where the victim's arm was almost severed by a meat cleaver, burglary and theft at Upper Kilmacud Road, unlawful vehicle taking and dangerous driving on the M50, and to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm on Oscar Traynor Road, unlawful vehicle taking and driving under the influence. The judge, Pat McCartan, imposed consecutive terms of three years for the assault, four years for the burglary and theft, and eight years for the dangerous driving, suspending the last five years. Healy's appeal to reduce the sentence was dismissed by the Court of Appeal, where Justice Alan Mahon upheld the sentence as appropriate given the repeated and severe nature of the offences.
A 20‑year‑old man named Dale Byrne, who was part of a group that broke into an apartment on Herberton Street, Rialto, Dublin, on 17 March 2015, was charged with burglary. The group stole €25,000 worth of photography equipment and personal belongings, including a €900 guitar and an expensive bicycle. Byrne left the guitar in a flower bed to avoid being seen carrying it, but CCTV later captured him riding the bicycle in the area. He was arrested after Garda Kevin Lawless spotted him wearing the same clothes as during the burglary. Byrne pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. He had no prior convictions. The judge imposed a two and a half year sentence, which was suspended in full on strict conditions, including 18 months of probation supervision. The stolen items have never been recovered and the homeowners had no insurance for them.
Eoghan McGarry, a 30‑year‑old serial burglar, was sentenced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for a twelfth burglary and possession of stolen jewellery. He pleaded guilty to breaking into St Killian's National School in Tallaght on 1 September 2014 and to possessing nine pieces of stolen jewellery found in his jacket the next day. The court heard he used a rock to smash a window, stole €218 and bank documents, and that a woman in Walkinstown discovered jewellery taken from her home. McGarry admitted the break‑in and said he needed money for a "fix." Judge Melanie Greally imposed a four‑year sentence, extending his existing term by four months, and ordered him to swear an oath to undergo two years of probation supervision upon release, to take medication and engage with mental health services. The sentence was delivered while five prison officers in riot gear stood with riot shields and an officer held a video camera.
Joseph French, 24, of Neilstown Park, Clondalkin, was sentenced by the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to seven and a half years for endangerment of a Garda and dangerous driving. He pleaded guilty to endangerment on the Ninth Lock Road, dangerous driving on Cherry Orchard Avenue, and driving without insurance. French also admitted to two robberies and an attempted robbery between 30 July and 9 August 2014 at Centra on La Touche Road, Bluebell, and Mace on Manor Road. His prior convictions include robbery, theft, burglary, possession of knives, and drug offences. Judge Martin Nolan imposed consecutive terms of seven and a half years, suspending the final two years on strict conditions. French was disqualified from driving for five years. The sentence reflects the violent nature of the robberies, which were committed to fund a drug habit, and the serious risk posed to Garda Fiona Ruddy during the high‑speed chase and reversal of his Volkswagen Passat.
A 16‑year‑old boy was sentenced to two and a half years' detention for violently robbing a woman at a Luas stop on 2 December 2014 and for burglary and criminal damage at the Black Horse Inn on the same day. He also pleaded guilty to criminal damage of three cars, theft of a Garmin Sat Nav and possession of a wheelbrace on 6 January 2015. The court noted that he had 29 prior convictions, including thefts and criminal damage, since March 2014. He was described by the court as a danger to society. The judge imposed four years' detention for the phone robbery, suspended the final 18 months, and added the other offences to the sentence. A co‑accused, Carl Farrell (23), received two years' consecutive sentences for car‑park damage and burglary, with a one‑year sentence for criminal damage and theft to run consecutively to a one‑year burglary term.
Eoin O'Sullivan, a 28‑year‑old man from Cork, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for a series of offences including dangerous driving, unlawful use of a stolen vehicle and endangerment. On 24 November 2014, Garda Blaine Feely stopped O'Sullivan on the M50 at Santry after a suspicion of dangerous driving. While the garda was partially inside the vehicle, O'Sullivan refused to stop, drove off, and later performed a U‑turn, travelling the wrong way on the M50 and the M1 before colliding with another vehicle at the Oscar Traynor Road Roundabout. He was also accused of tracing a stolen white Ford Transit box van used in a burglary in Louth. The court noted that O'Sullivan had 195 previous convictions, including dangerous driving, driving without insurance and a licence, careless driving and drink driving. Eoin O'Sullivan pleaded guilty.
In a sentencing hearing on 23 November 2015, Peter Jackson, aged 41, was given a mandatory life sentence for the murder of David Hamilton, aged 31, on 4 May 2012. Jackson, a former heroin addict, admitted remorse, saying "I'm sorry, I didn't set out to do this." The court heard that the killing occurred during a heroin injection session at a house on Kerryhall Road, where an argument over the drug escalated into a stabbing. Jackson had 73 prior convictions, mainly for traffic, public order, theft and burglary, and a previous three‑year sentence for heroin supply. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter but not to murder, a plea rejected by the prosecution. The sentence was back‑dated to the day of the murder, 4 May 2012. The hearing included a victim impact statement from Hamilton's uncle, Robert Denby, describing the family's profound grief. The judge, Justice Isobel Kennedy, confirmed the life sentence and the back‑dating. Peter Jackson was found guilty.
Patrick Murphy, 27, pleaded guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of a stolen Apple iPod and to handling a stolen BMW 5 Series parked at an apartment on Main Street, Clongriffin, on 18 August 2014. The car and iPod had been taken in a burglary of a house at The Links, Donabate, four days earlier. Murphy, who was staying in the apartment at the time, told gardaí he was paid a few hundred euros to let others park the car for the night, claiming he did not know who would pay him and that he had done it because he owed a drug debt from his cocaine use. He denied any involvement in the burglary and said he did not have the car keys. Judge Martin Nolan suspended a one‑year prison sentence. Murphy has 25 previous convictions, including drug dealing, firearms offences, criminal damage and car theft.
John Ryan, aged 35, was sentenced to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to false imprisonment and burglary at a house in Kimmage, Dublin, on 9 February 2015. Ryan had taken ten sleeping tablets before arriving at the residence and forced his way in, claiming to have a gun. He instructed the female students living there to lie on the floor and tie themselves with electrical cords. One student fled, prompting Ryan to chase her. Gardaí arrived shortly after, found Ryan still outside, and arrested him. Judge Martin Nolan described Ryan's conduct as bizarre and terrifying, noting that the tablets were not an excuse but that Ryan had not intended to break in or imprison anyone. The judge considered Ryan's cooperation, personal difficulties, and prior convictions, including two robberies in 2008, a knife possession, and burglary, before imposing the sentence.
Anne-Marie Byrne, 30, of Clontarf, Dublin, was sentenced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after pleading guilty to multiple offences. Judge Mary Ellen Ring imposed a two-year sentence for the burglary of Joseph Rowe's home in Sutton on January 24, 2011, and an 18-month sentence for two separate robberies at Xtravision video stores in Ongar Village and Blanchardstown Shopping Centre on April 6 and 7, 2013. The judge ordered that these sentences be served consecutively, resulting in a total effective custody period of three and a half years. Prosecution evidence alleged that Byrne entered Mr. Rowe's home with an accomplice posing as a garda, while in the video store incidents, she wore a balaclava and guarded the doors while others stole goods. Byrne admitted to the charges, stating she was paid €200 for the shop robberies, which she spent on drugs. The court noted her 12 previous convictions and her status as a single mother on a methadone programme. No suspended portions or specific post-release conditions were detailed in the sentencing order. The matter was concluded with the imposition of these consecutive custodial terms.
Tanya Tate, 37, with 115 prior convictions, was jailed for two years after burglarising a house in Glenageary and trespassing on the curtilage or in the vicinity of four other houses on 29 May 2015. She had been released from prison the day before. Children playing outside noticed her attempting to open door handles of two houses, her car, and the letterbox of a third. At a fourth house she entered the garden and was confronted by the homeowner, whose wife had seen her from upstairs. A child aged between eight and ten rang the Garda. Tate then entered a fifth house, went upstairs, and was found in a bedroom. The homeowner brought her downstairs where she sat in a chair until Garda arrived. Money was recovered at the Garda station. Tate pleaded guilty, expressed deep regret, and claimed she had no recollection of the events, saying she was drunk and had taken tablets.
David Mantle, 37, of Crumlin, pleaded guilty to attempted burglary at Maureen Burke's home in Clontarf on 3 July 2014. At 11 pm, after Ms Burke had gone to bed, she heard noises, thought they were her grandchildren, then heard a window smash and a man talking to himself. She went to the landing, saw Mantle, who smelled of alcohol, and he claimed he was in the wrong house. He left through the same window, and Ms Burke struck him with a belt of her walking stick. Garda Manus Keane investigated, used fingerprints on a broken window to identify Mantle, who was arrested in January 2015. He had 43 prior convictions, including robbery, attempted robbery and assault. He was extremely remorseful. Judge Patricia Ryan imposed a four‑year sentence, with the final year suspended on strict conditions, and Mantle was jailed for three years.
Alan Ring, 24, of Mac William Park, Tallaght, was arrested after a car was rammed into the rear door of St Joseph's Church, Terenure Road, on 8 August 2014. Gardaí received a report at 5.15 am and found the vehicle's engine still running. Ring and two other men were apprehended while ransacking the church for money. They had not taken any items but broke glass panels and damaged the sacristy door, causing €12,175 in damage. Ring pleaded guilty to burglary at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Judge Desmond Hogan sentenced him to a three‑year term, suspended for two years, citing the seriousness of the damage and the men's intoxication. In a separate case, Ring pleaded guilty to unauthorised vehicle use in Greenhills, Dublin 12, and received a suspended one‑year term. The court noted his 15 prior convictions, including burglary. The sentence reflects the severity of the church burglary and the overall conduct of the offenders.
Joseph Byrne, aged 21, was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for assault causing serious harm after he slashed a teenage boy's face with a knife on 4 February 2014. Byrne approached the boy, accusing him of having his X‑Box console, and cut a 10‑cm slash from the boy's ear to his lip, requiring 36 stitches and leaving a likely permanent scar. He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Byrne had 15 prior convictions, including two for knife possession, and was suffering from schizophrenia and depression at the time of the attack. Judge Desmond Hogan imposed a seven‑year sentence with the final two years suspended, ordering psychiatric care while in custody and 12 months of probation monitoring after release. Byrne also received a suspended one‑year sentence for a burglary committed while on bail, which will run consecutively with the seven‑year term.
Claire Lawlor, 26, of Abbeylea Drive, Swords, pleaded guilty in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to robbery committed on 1 May 2012 in Swords. She had 55 prior convictions, including robbery, theft, burglary, assault, road‑traffic offences and making off without paying. Lawlor, a former heroin addict who had become drug‑free and pregnant with her second child, was said by her defence counsel to have been motivated by her pregnancy to seek rehabilitation. The robbery involved a taxi driver outside a Garda station; Lawlor and a male accomplice stole the driver's keys and phone, and the driver was held at gunpoint. Lawlor's wallet, containing her social welfare card, was found in the taxi. The judge, citing her rehabilitation and the seriousness of her previous convictions, imposed a suspended sentence of two and a half years, suspended in full, and noted that the sentence was given with great hesitancy after recognising her request for a last chance.
A 23‑year‑old Tipperary man was sentenced to four years' imprisonment for having sex with a 14‑year‑old babysitter while walking her home on 3 February 2013. He pleaded guilty to the sexual act but was acquitted of rape by the trial judge. The court noted he had 21 prior convictions, including burglary, theft, criminal damage and drug offences. The incident occurred around 11.30 pm, with the sexual intercourse taking place briefly in an alley before he escorted the girl home. The victim's impact statement described profound unhappiness and hatred, yet she reported progress in 2015 and a supportive family. The judge, considering the early guilty plea and remorse, imposed a four‑year term with the final 18 months suspended, ordered registration as a sex offender and required probation‑based treatment upon release.
Mark Egan, 36, a homeless Dublin drug addict, was jailed for four and a half years for aggravated burglary and robbery. He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to burglary on Kildare Road, Crumlin, on 24 May 2014, and robbery at Smock Alley Theatre on 16 June 2014. His prior convictions include six burglaries, drug offences, possession of knives, a blood‑filled syringe and robbery. The burglary involved a break‑in at Gerard Byrne's home, where Egan struck Byrne with a claw hammer and was dragged into the utility room until Gardaí arrived. Byrne suffered a head cut and wrist injury. At the theatre, Egan used a kitchen knife to take €200 and cards from a cash box, returned the phone, and left the scene. Garda testimony and CCTV footage supported the charges. The judge noted Egan's drug addiction, homelessness, and prior attempts at reform, and imposed the sentence back‑dated to August 2014.
Lee McDonnell (24), the appellant, appeared before the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court during an appeal regarding his sentence for escaping from lawful custody on Tyrconnell Road, Inchicore on December 17, 2015. McDonnell admitted to the charge and pleaded guilty. The court heard that he had previously been serving a nine-year sentence for aggravated burglary, during which he broke into a house, assaulted a man with a replica gun, stole a car, and later robbed a petrol station using the stolen vehicle. His sentence was extended by two years earlier this year, pushing his release date to September 2021. During the appeal, Judge Martin Nolan imposed an additional ten-month sentence, extending his release date to 2022. The judge stated that the sentence must be consecutive to his current term and that there is no maximum sentence for escaping custody. McDonnell was not affected by any remission for good behaviour but was deprived of leisure activities, visits, and the right to wear his own clothes for 56 days. The matter was adjourned following the proceedings.
A 38‑year‑old Dublin man, Austin Byrne, was arrested after a garda saw him cycling the wrong way down Lombard Street while carrying a stolen payphone box under his jacket. The phone box, no longer in use, had been removed from an office building wall after Byrne entered through a door left ajar. Byrne was released on bail and two months later was caught again in Dublin 4 with a companion. The pair were found with an iPad hidden under Byrne's jacket and a laptop in his partner's possession; they could not provide the iPad login code. Gardaí traced the laptop to a house on Haddington Road, where Byrne admitted entering via a building site at the back and taking computers and a watch. Byrne pleaded guilty to burglary of a Pearse Street office block and possession of stolen property on 11 February 2015, and to burglary at Percy Lane on 11 April 2015.
Abraham Turner, 47, of Cherry Grove, Walkinstown, pleaded guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to burglary of cash and gold at Hatton Goldsmiths, Citywest Shopping Centre, on 16 January 2014. CCTV footage showed him jumping over the stall counter, prying a locked press open with a screwdriver and removing €1,050 in cash, gold worth €2,156 and two cheques totalling €750. Turner initially denied involvement but later admitted the burglary, saying he used the proceeds to pay a €1,500 drug debt from his heroin addiction. He has 106 previous convictions, including a 1991 manslaughter sentence and a 2004 drug supply conviction. He has been waiting six weeks for a place at the Tiglin residential drug treatment centre. Judge Melanie Greally adjourned his sentencing to 16 December 2015 so he can secure a treatment place.
Kevin Coughlan, aged 33, was sentenced to eleven years' imprisonment with three years suspended for manslaughter after a murder conviction was quashed. The case involved the death of Francis Greene, who was forced by Coughlan to the River Shannon on 28–29 November 2009. A jury had found Coughlan guilty of murder in 2011, but the Court of Appeal overturned the conviction in June 2015, citing unsatisfactory evidence from the Deputy State Pathologist, Dr Khalid Jaber, who had not disclosed that Greene had been strangled before drowning. The appeal substituted a manslaughter verdict. Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy imposed the sentence, crediting Coughlan for a guilty plea and for time already served, and noted his prior criminal record of robbery and burglary. The sentence will run from 10 June 2010, with the suspended portion effective after the term ends. Kevin Coughlan pleaded not guilty.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, William Trimble, aged 57, was sentenced to four and a half years' imprisonment for possessing €243,000, which he claimed was the proceeds of criminal conduct. Trimble had been paid up to €5,000 for holding €292,850 and £12,000. He admitted to a small favour that escalated. The judge considered his six prior convictions, including a three‑year burglary sentence from 1978, but noted Trimble's remorse and family responsibilities. Garda Detective David McKinley described how Trimble was apprehended after surveillance at a premises in Kinsealy, where €24,000 and €23,000 were found in hidden compartments, and additional sums were seized at his home in Edenmore Drive. The State was ordered to confiscate the money, while Trimble's jeep was to be returned to his family. The judge emphasised that Trimble had helped serious criminals hide money. William Trimble pleaded guilty.
Craig Boothman, 23, was sentenced by the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to a total of three years for a series of offences. He pleaded guilty to robbery at Shay's Pharmacy, a robbery of a Spar shop, criminal damage and burglary of an off‑license in Irishtown, and assault causing harm and criminal damage to a taxi. Each offence was committed while he was on bail for the previous one. Boothman had 27 prior convictions, including burglary, theft, assault and drug possession, dealt with at District Court level. The judge noted Boothman's violent behaviour when intoxicated but also his prospects if he remained clean. Boothman was arrested less than a week after the pharmacy robbery, where he used a knife to threaten a cashier and fled with the tills. He has been clean of drink and drugs since entering prison in March and has a job waiting for him in his grandfather's pub upon release.
Niall Fitzpatrick, 48, from Corrin Close, the Glen, Cork, faces a retrial after successfully appealing his conviction for attempted aggravated burglary and the possession of a pump action shotgun and ammunition at the home of Patrick Glavin in Glanmire on August 11, 2013. Fitzpatrick had pleaded not guilty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court. Following a three-week trial, a jury found him guilty, and Judge David Riordan sentenced him to 14 years imprisonment on November 13, 2014. On appeal, counsel Brendan Nix SC argued that the trial was compromised by the judge's failure to properly discharge a juror who sought to be excused. Nix SC stated that the Court Registrar entered the jury room to resolve the matter privately, a process that deprived both parties of input. The appellate court, comprising Mr Justice George Birmingham, Mr Justice Alan Mahon, and Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan, agreed that this procedure was unsatisfactory. Mr Justice Birmingham noted that Fitzpatrick may have been left with an understandable sense of grievance due to the lack of public administration of justice in that instance. Consequently, the court quashed the conviction and ordered a retrial. Fitzpatrick was remanded in custody to appear before Cork Circuit Criminal Court on October 28.
On 3 July 2014, 83‑year‑old Maureen Burke of Malahide Road, Clontarf, was awakened at 11 pm by the sound of a window breaking and a man speaking to himself. She left her bed, went to the upstairs landing and saw David Mantle, 37, of Crumlin, who had entered her home through the same window. Mantle, smelling of alcohol, apologized and left, claiming he had no memory of the incident. Burke struck him with a belt of her walking stick as he exited. Garda Manus Keane investigated the next day, found fingerprints on the broken window, and identified Mantle as the suspect. He was arrested and charged in January 2015 with one count of attempted burglary. At trial, Mantle pleaded guilty; he has 43 prior convictions and was described as extremely remorseful. Judge Patricia Ryan remanded him in custody until 9 November for sentencing.
In a Tallaght burglary, 18‑year‑old Lewis Smith and a 17‑year‑old boy stole a computer tablet, a mobile phone and a television from a profoundly deaf woman. Smith pleaded guilty to burglary at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 2 September 2014. He had prior convictions for criminal damage and car theft. Judge Martin Nolan, after hearing evidence, remanded Smith on continuing bail with conditions: live with his grandmother, observe a curfew, and sign on three times a week at Tallaght Garda Station. Smith later broke his curfew and was charged with public order offences. Judge Nolan ordered Smith to carry out 200 hours of community service within a year in lieu of a two‑year prison sentence, noting he was considered suitable for community service by the Probation Service. The 17‑year‑old co‑accused pleaded guilty and is due for sentencing later. The case remains ongoing.
James Byrne, 43, of Crumlin, pleaded guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to burglary of Drimnagh Castle Primary School, St Agnes Church, Assumption Church, and St Mark's Junior School between 3 and 13 October 2014, and to criminal damage at St Mark's Junior School. He was already serving a suspended sentence for earlier burglaries when these offences occurred. Judge Catherine Murphy imposed a one‑year jail term, suspending the final year of a two‑year sentence on the condition that Byrne keeps the peace and engages with drug‑addiction services. Byrne admitted stealing €56 from St Agnes Church, €200–€300 from Assumption Church, and causing €3,500 of damage at St Mark's Junior School, but claimed he took no items during the burglaries. He apologized for locking an 80‑year‑old man in the church. The court noted his 26 previous convictions, including five burglaries and three aggravated burglaries.
Mark Kelly, 36, was sentenced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after pleading guilty to two offences of assault causing harm at The Schoolhouse Hotel, Ballsbridge, on 24 February 2014. Judge Mary Ellen Ring imposed a two-and-a-half-year sentence for these assaults, ordered to run consecutively to a three-year sentence for a burglary at Kincora Road, Clontarf, on 23 February 2012. The burglary sentence was backdated to July 2013. Kelly also received a two-year sentence for admitting to taking part in a robbery of an iPhone and wallet on Harcourt Street on 23 July 2012. Additionally, a four-year jail sentence for aggravated burglary, originally suspended in 2012, was activated in October 2013. The court noted Kelly has 34 previous convictions, including burglary and robbery, and has spent over 13 of the last 15 years in custody. During sentencing, Kelly apologized and stated he was taking cocaine at the time of the burglary. His defense counsel highlighted his history of heroin addiction, noting he stopped abusing the drug in 2006. The matter was finalized with the imposition of these consecutive and concurrent sentences.
Michael McDonald, 44, was arrested after a burglary at a priest's house in Cherry Orchard, Dublin, where he stole a Yankees baseball cap and a Lourdes purse containing €660. He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Judge Patricia Ryan imposed a suspended prison term of one year, suspended for three years, conditioned on McDonald keeping the peace and continuing drug treatment with Probation Services, and on his participation in victim empathy programmes. The burglary occurred on 15 August 2013; the priest discovered the front door unlocked and a side‑room window shattered, with the house ransacked. McDonald admitted the theft to Gardaí, apologized to the priest, and was wearing the stolen cap and purse when apprehended. He has 27 prior convictions, including a 2002 sentence of three years for robbery and assault offences. His defence lawyer, Keith Spencer BL, cited his upbringing in the Travelling community and his son's success as a professional footballer.
In July 2015 a Dublin teenager, Scott Cunningham, 18, was sentenced to four and a half years for burglary and assault. He pleaded guilty to breaking into a student's house on Beaumont Road, removing a patio door, and taking a mobile phone. He also pleaded guilty to assaulting Felipe Loughran on Westmoreland Street, where he repeatedly stood on Loughran's head and stamped on it three times. Witnesses described Cunningham as "dancing" on the victim's head while another shouted "kill him, kill him". Cunningham had 15 prior convictions, including burglary. Judge Martin Nolan suspended the final 18 months of the sentence, describing the assault as vicious and noting Loughran's injuries. The court heard Cunningham was not the ringleader of the burglary. The case involved a co‑accused, Calvin Cunningham, who was to be sentenced separately. The article reports Cunningham's background, including long‑term medication for ADHD and drug use. The sentencing took place at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Gary McMenamin, aged 22 and a former Shamrock Rovers scholarship recipient, was given a two‑year suspended sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for possessing a stolen Cartier watch worth €10,000. McMenamin was travelling by boat to the UK to trade the watch when Gardaí stopped him. He first claimed the watch belonged to his girlfriend, then said it had been offered to him by an acquaintance for €1,500. He pleaded guilty to possession of the watch at Stena Line on 9 October 2014. The watch had been stolen in an aggravated burglary in Wicklow in September 2014, though McMenamin was not involved in that burglary. He has six previous road‑traffic convictions and one conviction for failing to comply with Garda direction, all dating back to 2010. Judge Martin Nolan noted that McMenamin had no role in the burglary but must have suspected the watch was stolen before buying it.