David Rodgers, a 47‑year‑old language teacher, was arrested on 30 October 2018 for selling cannabis on Henry Street, Dublin. Gardaí found nearly €25,000 worth of cannabis in his home, including glass jars and a makeshift grow‑house. He initially claimed the plants were natural herbs but later admitted to selling cannabis. Rodgers pleaded guilty to one count of possession of cannabis for sale or supply. He has 12 prior convictions, mainly for theft and public order offences. His defence lawyer described him as having an unusual profile: he left school at 15, later returned to complete his Junior and Leaving Cert exams, and became an English teacher for foreign students. He has lived abroad and speaks Spanish, German and Arabic. Rodgers suffered a brain injury after being assaulted by his brother, leading to memory and learning difficulties. He had been studying for a languages degree at DCU but had to abandon it.
An elderly man, Christopher O'Neill, was attacked by 26‑year‑old Nicole Byrne while using a cash machine in Dublin city centre. Byrne threatened him with a syringe and said, "I'm going to hurt you now." O'Neill, fearing for his life, struck Byrne in the face, grabbed her arms, and forced her to the ground until Gardaí arrived. Byrne, who had previously pleaded guilty to robbery offences, was found to be heavily drug‑using and was sentenced to five years' imprisonment with the final two years suspended on condition of drug treatment and victim‑focused work. O'Neill, who had recently returned to Ireland with his family, said the incident shattered his dream of living safely in the country and prompted them to seek a safer place to live. The case was described by the sentencing judge as a regrettable indictment of the risks people face in the city.
John Power, 28, was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for stealing a college student's wallet and phone and for assaulting Jamie O'Connor, a "Good Samaritan", on Westmoreland Street on 11 November last year. Power, who has 88 prior convictions, pleaded guilty to one count of theft and one count of assault causing harm. The incident occurred when Power, accompanied by a woman, took the victim's belongings from a counter at Offbeat Donuts. O'Connor, who was walking his baby, confronted them and was threatened with a Stanley blade. Power struck O'Connor's face, slashing his hand; O'Connor received nine stitches. Power was found guilty, expressed remorse, and was described by the judge as a "menace to society". The court imposed a four‑year sentence, suspending the final year on conditions, and noted Power's attempts at reform and drug‑free status. The woman's case remains pending.
A Laois truck driver, 41, appealed his 2018 conviction for possession of cocaine for sale or supply. He was found with almost €300,000 worth of cocaine stashed in a fire extinguisher in his cab and in a bag on the trailer of his truck seized at Dublin Port. A jury acquitted him of the trailer drugs but convicted him of the cab drugs, for which Judge Patricia Ryan sentenced him to eight and a half years' imprisonment. The driver denied any knowledge of the drugs and denied making an alleged admission to a customs officer, who had approached him in custody and asked, "So you found the drugs, then?" The appeal argued that the alleged admission was inadmissible because the driver had not been cautioned and that no corroborative evidence supported the claim that he had made the admission. The Court of Appeal has reserved judgment. The unnamed 41-year-old pleaded not guilty.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, John Lennon, aged 40, pleaded guilty to robbery at Thomas Court pharmacy on 2 October 2019. Lennon, who had previously served a two‑year sentence for robbery and was due for release in January 2022, was also facing a consecutive one‑year term for burglary. During the robbery he brandished a screwdriver, demanded two packets of valium from the pharmacy staff while claiming he was hallucinating due to drug use, and left after the staff threw the packets at him. The judge, Martin Nolan, noted Lennon's history of offending but also his recent rehabilitation efforts and a guilty plea. He imposed a 16‑month sentence, consecutive to the existing two‑year term but concurrent with the pending burglary term, citing good hope for reform. The case highlighted Lennon's drug‑related motives and the lack of physical confrontation with staff.
A 29‑year‑old man, Dylan Murphy, was arrested after a teenager was attacked during a burglary at a flat on Thomas Street, Dublin. The victim, an Iranian teenager aged 19, was taken to hospital after Murphy smashed a large bottle across the side of his head. Murphy was seen walking around the emergency department and was found to be carrying stolen Iraqi currency and rolling tobacco. He claimed he could not explain how he had the cash and denied having broken into the flat. He also admitted to taking tablets and drinking beer and whiskey. Judge Pauline Codd sentenced Murphy to six years in prison, suspending the final four years, and ordered that the sentence run consecutively with two years already imposed for other robberies in 2018. The suspension was conditional on Murphy attending drug treatment, alcohol awareness and anger management programmes and maintaining good behaviour.
Alfa So, 31, a Portuguese national, was arrested at Dublin Airport on 3 July 2019 after customs officers discovered over €51,000 worth of cocaine in a wine box he carried. The drugs, 70% pure, were packed into 73 pellets with the intention of ingestion, but So admitted he could not swallow them and instead concealed them in the wine box. He pleaded guilty to one count of importing drugs, claiming he bought them from a friend in Africa and intended to sell them to buy a farm in Portugal. So had no prior convictions and expressed remorse. The Dublin Circuit Criminal Court sentenced him to two years' imprisonment, a term backdated to his arrest, citing his foreign status and the difficulty of his custody conditions. The sentence was imposed after he pleaded guilty early and was found to be remorseful.
In a Central Criminal Court hearing, a 58‑year‑old Dublin man was found guilty of 30 counts of sexual assault against four girls, having previously pleaded guilty to ten similar offences in 2002 and 2003. He received a nine‑year sentence with the final two years suspended. The court heard victim impact statements from three of the four women, who described long‑term emotional damage, drug use, abusive relationships and a sense of survivor identity. The judge adjourned the case for finalisation. The accused, who had been in custody since March 2018 after extradition from the UK, had also been convicted of burglary in both Ireland and the UK. No new charges were brought for his time in the UK, where he worked at a homeless charity centre. The court considered his prior sentence and the possibility of a lenient sentence. The hearing concluded with the judge setting a date for finalisation. The unnamed 58-year-old pleaded not guilty.
The Special Criminal Court has sentenced Mark Capper to eight years and three months imprisonment, with the final nine months suspended, for facilitating the Kinahan organised crime group in planning the murder of Patrick Hutch. Presiding Judge Tony Hunt accepted garda evidence that the cartel operates a hierarchical structure involving execution-style murders and international trafficking of drugs and firearms. Capper, who pleaded guilty in March to participating in activities intended to facilitate a serious offence, was found to have intentionally assisted in the plot before withdrawing three days prior to the attempted killing. The judge noted Capper's financial motivation and drug addiction as mitigating factors, reducing his headline sentence of 11 years by 25 percent for his early plea. This sentencing follows the July 2019 convictions of Gary Thompson, Glen Thompson, and Robert Browne, who were jailed for 12.5 years, 12.5 years, and 11.5 years respectively for unlawful possession of four firearms with intent to endanger life during the same operation. The court emphasized that the prevention of the murder was due to police intervention, not the defendants' actions.
In a 2020 case, a 29‑year‑old man from County Kildare was found guilty of raping two boys. He used his membership in a voluntary paramedic organisation to gain the boys' trust and drugged them with Penthrox, a pain‑relief drug normally used by medical professionals. In the first incident, a 15‑year‑old was forced to inhale the drug through an oxygen mask and was then orally raped. In the second, the man raped an unconscious child while another man recorded the assault on a mobile phone. The defendant pleaded guilty to oral rape, sexual assault, sexual exploitation and aiding the production of child pornography. He was sentenced to eleven years' imprisonment, with eighteen months suspended, and was ordered to abstain from any work involving children and to attend probation treatment programmes.
Daniel Wyse, 36, has appealed his conviction for the alleged possession of drugs for sale or supply at Halfway Crossroads, Rathduff, Co. Cork. Wyse was originally charged in February 2014 after Gardaí attempted to stop his vehicle, which subsequently collided with a patrol car after mounting an embankment. A package of heroin, valued at over €37,000, was found in the jeep. Wyse claimed he was unaware of the drugs and was travelling to Limerick to obtain identity papers for his pet Chihuahua. A jury found him guilty, and Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin sentenced him to 10 years in prison in February 2016, suspending the final 18 months. In the current appeal before the Court of Appeal, his counsel, Seamus Clarke SC, argued that the trial judge should have directed an acquittal if it was reasonably possible Wyse did not know of the drugs. He further contended that the judge's charge insufficiently addressed circumstantial evidence and the chain of custody, specifically citing errors in the labelling of the drugs. Clarke also argued that the trial judge should have granted a second senior counsel given the minimum sentence. The State's counsel, Imelda Kelly BL, countered that no requisition regarding circumstantial evidence or labelling was made at trial and that the appointment of senior counsel was discretionary. The matter was adjourned, with the court reserving judgment to be delivered as soon as possible.
A 33‑year‑old Moldovan man, Alerian Burcovsehi, was sentenced to 32 months' imprisonment for a savage assault on 26 April 2019 that left victim Jason Brophy with fractures to his skull, nose, ribs and spine. Burcovsehi, who had no prior convictions, approached Brophy on Price's Lane, knocked him to the ground and repeatedly struck him, including kicking his head and striking his face with his heel. Garda Christopher Fitzgerald reported that Burcovsehi had been seen outside a nightclub the previous evening, behaving erratically and doing press‑ups on the pavement. In a CCTV interview he admitted the assault and said, "I do deserve to be locked up." Brophy, barely conscious when police arrived, suffered severe injuries and now lives with balance problems, difficulty dressing, and a reliance on liquefied foods. Burcovsehi denied drug use but admitted alcohol consumption and was described by the defence as operating under a personality disorder. The unnamed man pleaded guilty.
A 29‑year‑old former voluntary paramedic was found guilty of orally raping a 15‑year‑old boy and sexually assaulting another child after drugging them with Penthrox, a powerful pain‑relief agent. In the first incident, the accused used an oxygen mask to force the boy to inhale the drug, then sexually assaulted him. In the second, the boy was unconscious while the accused orally raped him and another man recorded the act on a mobile phone. The defendant pleaded guilty to oral rape, sexual exploitation, aiding and abetting child pornography, sexual assault and theft of Penthrox and a carbon dioxide chamber. He was suspended from the paramedic organisation and a nursing course. The court heard that the whistle device had been altered to increase potency, and that the defendant had searched online for ways to incapacitate victims. The case was adjourned to Wednesday for sentencing.
Alex Harris, aged 38, was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to two burglary charges and the theft of a laptop from an unlocked ambulance between 26 July and 4 November 2019. The ambulance, parked on Dorset Street Upper, was left with its doors closed but unlocked while a paramedic attended a patient. Harris, who was on bail for a prior burglary, was identified through CCTV footage and DNA evidence. He had 63 previous convictions and a long history of heroin addiction, which he claimed motivated the offences. The court noted his desire to seek residential drug treatment and become a better father. Judge Martin Nolan imposed an 18‑month term for the earliest burglary and a consecutive 18‑month term for the laptop theft, totaling three years of imprisonment.
A man convicted of stabbing a friend seventeen times with scissors in Letterkenny has failed in his appeal against an eight-and-a-half year prison sentence. Kenneth Broe was found guilty of assault causing serious harm following an incident on October 9, 2008, in which the victim sustained multiple wounds to the neck, head, and chest and required two life-saving operations. The Court of Appeal dismissed Broe's challenge to the sentencing decision, upholding the original ten-year term with eighteen months suspended imposed by the Circuit Court in May 2018. The court found the sentencing judge had properly exercised discretion in opting for part-suspension rather than outright reduction, citing rehabilitation efforts as justification. Broe had fled to County Monaghan following the attack and was apprehended with cocaine in his possession. The three-judge panel noted his continued progress in custody and encouraged further reformation.
Ruth Ben Haim, a 19‑year‑old from Tel Aviv, was stopped at Dublin Airport after arriving from Finland with nearly €20,000 worth of the plant stimulant khat. The plant, legal in Israel in its natural form, is a controlled substance in Ireland. Ben Haim pleaded guilty to possession of drugs for sale or supply. She was dealt with by the Garda Juvenile Liaison and returned to Israel without charge, having spent a week in custody and then released on bail. The court, noting her age and lack of prior convictions, imposed a fully suspended one‑year sentence, requiring her to keep the peace and behave well for one year. The case was heard by Judge Martin Nolan, with counsel for the prosecution and defence present. The other girl on the flight was also found with a similar amount of khat. The court heard that the plant is widely used in north‑east African countries such as Somalia.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing on 22 May 2020, 26‑year‑old Jamie O'Rourke pleaded guilty to two counts: attempting to rob the Centra store in Swords on 26 August 2019 and robbing a tanning salon in Swords on the same day. The court heard that O'Rourke fled the Centra store after a shop owner chased him out with a step ladder, then ran to the tanning salon, forced the assistant to open the till and stole €156 in cash. Gardaí from the Armed Response Unit pursued him, and after he refused to stop, they tasered him. A taser wire led officers to a bush where he was hiding. O'Rourke, who has 36 prior convictions including robbery, claimed he had no memory of the incident because he had taken heroin that day. The judge ordered a Probation Services report and adjourned sentencing to 10 July. The case remains pending.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, Shane Cooney, aged 29, was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for a series of burglaries that included the Sinn Fein constituency office of TD Aengus O Snodaigh and Senator Maire Devine on 20 March 2018. Cooney and an accomplice stole laptops, mobile phones and other items from the office. He also pleaded guilty to burglaries at Insomnia coffee shop and Tesco Express on South Circular Road on 5 April 2018, and at Puro clothing store on Wicklow Street on 16 December 2018, where he stole nearly €4,000 in cash. The court noted he had 93 prior convictions, had caused damage to the front doors of Tesco and Insomnia, and had a history of drug addiction. Judge Patricia Ryan considered mitigating factors such as early guilty pleas and rehabilitation efforts, and reactivated an 18‑month suspended sentence from a previous aggravated burglary, incorporating it into the three‑year term.
The Supreme Court dismissed the Boyles' appeal against the High Court's decision to appoint a receiver over a Dublin house at Casement Drive, deemed to be proceeds of crime. The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) had applied in 2019, and the High Court found the house and other assets, including cash, were beneficially owned by alleged drug trafficker Jason Boyle, though registered in his parents' names to conceal his involvement. The Boyles denied the claims and argued the property was purchased for €70,000 in 2013 with a €60,000 loan from Mrs Boyle's father. CAB had secured freezing orders in 2016 and claimed the house, worth about €250,000, was used by Boyle and had been extensively renovated. The Court of Appeal dismissed the Boyles' appeal in January, and the Supreme Court, after reviewing the evidence, found no grounds to hear the appeal, citing sufficient evidence regarding the property's insurance status to justify the receiver's appointment.
A 51‑year‑old man named Jessie O'Dwyer, who has a long criminal record, was jailed for a robbery of a pharmacy in Dublin city centre. He pleaded guilty to the robbery, which took place on 11 February 2019 when he entered Blackhall pharmacy on Ellis Quay, threatened staff, and used a scarf to cover his face while shouting for the till to be opened. The pharmacist, fearing he might be armed, opened the till, and security staff tackled him. O'Dwyer was found to have been abusing crack cocaine at the time of the offence. In court, his lawyers argued that he wanted to change and address his addiction. Judge Martin Nolan acknowledged his desire for reform, noted his good behaviour in custody, and suspended the final two years of a three‑and‑a‑half‑year sentence on the condition that he remain peaceful and engage with the Probation Service.
In a Court of Appeal hearing, Dylan Hayes (25) and Ger Hogan (37) appealed convictions for the murder of Shane Murphy at a house‑party in Pallasgreen, Co. Limerick. The appeal argued that the prosecution failed to prove joint enterprise and that the provocation defence was inadequately instructed. Hayes claimed he was provoked after a confrontation over alleged drug use, then stabbed Murphy with a knife, causing a heart wound and other injuries. Hogan was alleged to have participated in the attack, with witnesses stating he stabbed Murphy with a screwdriver, though the pathologist found only knife wounds. The DPP maintained that witnesses implicated both men in a common design, and that no evidence showed Hogan withdrew. The Court of Appeal reserved judgment, noting the complexity of the appeals and the need for further consideration. Dylan Hayes was found guilty. Ger Hogan was found guilty.
Amir Essalhi, 35, of Burg an Ri Walk, Balgaddy, Clondalkin, Dublin, pleaded guilty to four armed robberies and one attempted robbery committed over a nine‑day period in November 2018. The incidents included robberies at Ebano Hair & Beauty Salon, Ballinteer Shopping Centre, Centra on Drummartin Road, Centra on Ballinteer Road, and an attempted robbery at Spar on Rockville Road, Blackrock. Essalhi admitted possession of weapons ranging from a screwdriver to a knife at each event, with threats of violence but no actual violence. He has 65 prior convictions for robbery, arson, burglary and assault causing harm. Judge Martin Nolan, noting the seriousness of the offences and the mitigating effect of Essalhi's guilty pleas, sentenced him to four‑and‑a‑half years' imprisonment. The defence highlighted Essalhi's background, his brother's murder in 2011, his drug‑free status at the time of the offences, his two children and parental support, and his remorse, requesting leniency.
Two men, Dylan Hayes (25) and Ger Hogan (37), were convicted of murdering Shane Murphy at a house party in Pallasgreen, Co. Limerick, on 30 April 2015. The Central Criminal Court jury found them guilty and Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy imposed a mandatory life sentence on each in May 2017. Hayes claimed he stabbed Murphy after a confrontation over alleged drug use, while Hogan was alleged to have participated in a joint enterprise, attacking Murphy with a screwdriver and encouraging Hayes. The trial judge's charge on provocation was challenged by Hayes' counsel, who argued the jury was not properly instructed on the subjective element of the test. Hogan's counsel contested the use of words and acts attributed to Hogan, noting the pathologist's testimony that fatal wounds were caused by a knife, not a screwdriver. The Court of Appeal adjourned the appeal hearing to Thursday morning due to poor audio‑video link quality.
Tara Fay, 46, was sentenced to a fully suspended two‑year imprisonment for burgling St Michael's secondary school on Wellmount Road, Finglas, on 4 October 2016. She admitted trespassing and stealing jumpers, tracksuits, €250 in cash and a mobile phone. Fay told Gardaí she was stealing to pay for drugs. The judge, Patricia Ryan, noted the offence was aggravated by its consequences, though the amount stolen was small, and cited Fay's guilty plea, cooperation and rehabilitation efforts as mitigating factors. She was given a suspended sentence on the condition of keeping the peace and good behaviour for three years. The school's principal, John Barry, said the burglary contributed to a €10,000 rise in the school's insurance costs over two years, a figure insurers attributed to claims made by schools for theft and damage. Dean Kelly BL, Fay's defence lawyer, highlighted her abusive relationship and the murder of her partner.
Christopher Maguire, 42, was sentenced to 21 months' imprisonment in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for a series of violent and threatening offences. He pleaded guilty to assaulting his sister Nicola Byrne and to making threats to kill or seriously harm her and her husband David Byrne on 10 May 2019 at Killester Avenue. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of intimidating a witness at Harry Byrne's pub on 6 September 2019. Earlier, he had been convicted of false imprisonment and drug possession. During the May incident, Gardaí found him holding a kitchen knife and he threatened David Byrne with a "sawn‑off shotgun" and later claimed to have a gun. In September he threatened to shoot both Byrne and his sister after purchasing a gun. The judge, Martin Nolan, found the threats credible and imposed consecutive sentences of six months for the earlier offences and 15 months for the later ones, totaling 21 months of imprisonment.
Karl Mullen, 49, was sentenced to three‑and‑a‑half years in prison for criminal damage, two counts of dangerous driving and driving without insurance after he drove a car into the front of a house in Clondalkin on 27 October 2018. He reversed his vehicle through the front gates, crashed into the front window and then drove off, leaving the back bumper in the front garden. Mullen gave no explanation for his actions, claiming he was "in a very bad way on drugs" at the time. He was arrested during a Garda pursuit that ended when his vehicle struck bollards and stopped. Mullen has 49 prior convictions, including 19 for road traffic offences and a four‑year robbery sentence he is currently serving. He was also disqualified from driving for four years. The judge noted his drug use and the fear caused to the homeowner. The case was heard at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Karl Mullen pleaded guilty.
Patrick Hand, aged 38, admitted to attempting a robbery at an Abbey Street Luas stop on 15 July 2017. He claimed he may have been hallucinating after taking cocaine and alcohol, believing the victim's bag was his. Hand had just been released from prison the day before the incident. Gardaí arrested him after Luas security restrained him. In court, Hand pleaded guilty to attempted robbery. Judge Melanie Greally accepted his admission of drug addiction and homelessness post‑release, noting his efforts to address these issues. She imposed a four‑and‑a‑half‑year sentence, suspending the final two and a half years on the condition that he remain peaceful, reside in County Meath, and engage with addiction services. The sentence was back‑dated to 19 December 2018 when Hand entered custody.
Anthony McGurk, a 29‑year‑old father of five, was found to have smuggled nearly €60,000 worth of MDMA crystal powder into Ireland after a panic attack at Dublin Airport. He had just returned from a flight from Amsterdam, where he had purchased the drugs with the intention of selling them in Belfast. McGurk initially denied ownership, claiming the drugs were planted, but later confessed to buying them and to possessing them for sale or supply. He pleaded guilty to one count of possession for sale or supply. The court, noting his lack of prior convictions, his work as a chef, and his mental health difficulties, sentenced him to two and a half years in prison. He is currently working in the prison kitchen. The case highlighted his strained relationships and the impact on his family's housing situation.
Robert Kinlan, 33, of Ballygall Parade, Finglas, Dublin, was sentenced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for offences committed on October 20, 2018. Kinlan pleaded guilty to charges of attempted robbery and robbery at Cuffe Street, Dublin 2. Judge Melanie Greally noted that Kinlan had a "lamentable history" of previous convictions, including numerous robberies. The court heard that Kinlan was arrested the night before the incident for another robbery and was released on bail. During the daylight offence, he allegedly threatened a victim, pushing him against a gate and causing facial injuries, including a broken nose, while demanding his phone and wallet. Kinlan was subsequently arrested after a witness identified him on a Luas tram. Judge Greally imposed a prison sentence of four and a half years. However, she suspended the final two years of the term, resulting in an effective custody period of three and a half years. The suspension is conditional upon Kinlan keeping the peace and engaging with drug treatment during that period. The Judge acknowledged Kinlan's difficult start in life and his current engagement with Probation Services.
In May 2020 a burglar, Dominic Rogers, 21, was caught by a homeowner standing in a bush near the scene of a burglary in Lucan. Rogers had earlier pleaded guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of a stolen car at an M1 toll plaza on 28 June 2019 and to burglary at Foxpark on 26 September 2019. He had five prior convictions, including drug possession and deception. Gardaí had CCTV showing him driving the stolen car and later found him in a bush holding a torch after a house in Lucan had been broken into. Rogers denied involvement in the burglary but later accepted responsibility. Judge Martin Nolan sentenced him to one year for the car offence and two years for the burglary, to run consecutively for a total of three years, with the final 12 months suspended on strict conditions.
Denise Bergin, aged 50, was sentenced to five years' imprisonment after pleading guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of drugs for sale or supply, firearms and ammunition. On 18 July 2019 Gardaí seized two semi‑automatic pistols and ammunition hidden in a dog‑food box under her kitchen sink, 37 packages of cannabis, six small bags of cocaine and about 40,000 prescription tablets, totalling €758,000 in value. Bergin claimed she had been asked to hold the items for €400 to pay a drug debt and to visit her sick mother in the UK. She was described as a vulnerable person with a diagnosed emotionally unstable personality disorder, and her mother died two weeks after her arrest. The court noted the exploitation of her vulnerability and imposed the five‑year sentence with mitigation considered.
Gerard O'Toole, 23, pleaded guilty to a violent robbery on December 3, 2018, at Fownes Street Upper, Dublin 2. In the early morning, he attacked a man who was walking home from a pub, grabbing him, pushing him to the ground, and punching him in the face. While the victim was on the ground, O'Toole told a woman to take his money and phone; she removed his wallet and phone, but only the victim's student card was recovered. The victim, a foreign national studying computer science in Ireland, left the country after the incident and has no plans to return. O'Toole, who has 36 prior convictions including robbery and drug offences, was sentenced by Judge Martin Nolan to three years' imprisonment. He has been receiving addiction counselling while in custody and has expressed willingness to return stolen items if their location is known. The sentence reflects the aggravated nature of the violence and the prolonged attack.
Dylan Brophy, 22, of Reuben Street, Rialto, Dublin, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for robbing Arch Cafe, Reuben Plaza, Dublin 8, on 25 June 2018. He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Garda Kevin Cassidy described Brophy as approaching the counter with his face covered and hood up, holding a knife by his chest, demanding money and pressing the green button on the till. He took €650 and left. CCTV footage showed him sitting in the cafe an hour before the robbery and later changing clothes. Brophy is a regular customer and has 43 prior convictions, including robbery, assault causing harm and drug possession. He was cooperating with the investigation after arrest. Judge Martin Nolan noted the lack of violence and Brophy's admissions, and imposed the sentence starting from the day of sentencing.
A 19‑year‑old teenage burglar, Martin Connors of Cloonmore Park, Tallaght, was arrested again after Gardaí noticed a damp patch on the back of his trousers, indicating he had climbed over a wet wall at a house he had just broken into. Connors had previously pleaded guilty to burglary and possession of a chisel on 11 January 2019, and was already serving a three‑and‑a‑half‑year sentence for a separate burglary and robbery in August 2018. Judge Martin Nolan, hearing the case in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, ordered Connors to serve an additional six months after his current sentence ends. The burglary in question involved an empty house, and no items were taken. Connors' defence lawyer, Sarah Jane O'Callaghan, highlighted his difficult upbringing, drug addiction, and the impact of his parents' prison sentences on his life. The owner of the home declined to give a victim impact statement. The other two burglars involved were not identified.
David Banks, 45, a homeless man with 22 prior convictions, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for possession of heroin for sale or supply. He pleaded guilty to offences at Mountjoy Square on 21 June 2018 and 4 July 2018, and at Store Street Garda Station on 26 July 2018. Garda Gerard Whelan reported that police entered a friend's address at Mountjoy Square in June, finding €2,330 worth of heroin that Banks had stored there. A subsequent raid on 4 July uncovered an additional €2,150 worth of heroin. On 26 July, Banks was stopped on the street, searched, and a further €1,700 worth of heroin was found in his underwear at Store Street Garda Station. Judge Melanie Greally noted that Banks had been a chronic drug addict from a young age, had worked as a painter and decorator, and had been homeless intermittently.
James O'Malley, aged 26, pleaded guilty in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to robbery and the production of a syringe after threatening a cashier with a syringe and stealing a tray from a Costcutter shop on 13 April 2019. Gardaí CCTV footage showed O'Malley and a second man attempting to empty the till before taking the tray, then changing clothes in an abandoned yard. The shop suffered a €450 loss, and the tray was recovered after O'Malley's arrest. O'Malley admitted the offence, describing himself as "out of his head and strung out," and cited a history of 66 prior convictions, including robbery, assault, and drug offences. Judge Melanie Greally sentenced him to four‑and‑a‑half years' imprisonment, suspending the final 18 months on strict conditions, including mandatory residential drug treatment if directed by the Probation Service. The sentence reflects the seriousness of the syringe threat and O'Malley's need for comprehensive drug treatment.
Gareth Hamilton, aged 26, from Drumconnick, County Cavan, was sentenced to three years imprisonment at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court following his guilty plea to robbery at an Applegreen Service Station in Inchicore on 28 November 2018. Gardaí identified Hamilton after discovering his DNA and fingerprints on a juice box he consumed inside the premises during the incident. Hamilton entered the service station, requested cigarettes, then produced a box cutter and took €350 from the till before leaving with the money and cigarettes. The court heard Hamilton had previous convictions for attempted robbery, burglary, and possession of stolen property, all committed within a finite period in 2018 and 2019. He was on bail at the time of the offence. Judge Melanie Greally noted Hamilton had secured employment on his father's farm and expressed potential for rehabilitation should he address his drug dependency. The sentence is to run consecutively to a sentence already being served, ending 14 November next.
James Fagan, 27, of Cushlawn Park, Tallaght, pleaded guilty to a robbery at Merchants Quay on 14 July 2017. He was one of three men on the steps of a Franciscan church when a victim passed by with his partner. Fagan struck the victim first with a pen, then with a beer can that hit the victim's head, and later struck him in the face while the victim was held. The victim suffered a hairline fracture to the nose and bruising to the eye socket. The court noted Fagan's history of drug‑related convictions and his addiction's influence on his behaviour. Judge Melanie Greally considered his guilty plea, family circumstances, mental health issues and a remorseful letter. She sentenced him to five‑and‑a‑half years, suspending the final 18 months on strict conditions, including 12 months of probation after release.
David Allen, 35, was on bail for a robbery when he knocked 89‑year‑old Nina MacAuley to the ground outside a Dublin hairdresser, bashed her, and stole her handbag. MacAuley suffered head and arm injuries and later discovered her handbag missing. Allen, who has no fixed abode and a history of 25 convictions including robbery, burglary and theft, pleaded guilty to the robbery at Aungier Street on 1 July 2019 and to the armed robbery of a 73‑year‑old taxi driver on 5 February 2019. Judge Melanie Greally sentenced him to three years for the earlier robbery and five years for the MacAuley robbery, making a total of eight years imprisonment with the final two years suspended on strict conditions. The sentence was imposed with the two terms running consecutively. Allen's victim impact statement was read in court, and he admitted to being "strung out" on heroin during the incidents.
Derek Hearns, 35, was sentenced by Judge Patricia Ryan in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after a February trial on eight counts related to an attack on David O'Sullivan's home in Baldoyle in February 2016. He was found guilty of producing a knife, robbing €10 and stealing a mobile phone, while the jury could not agree on the remaining charges, which were struck out. Hearns maintains his innocence on all counts. The judge, noting the night‑time assault occurred when O'Sullivan's partner and child were present, imposed a three‑year sentence with the final year suspended under conditions. Hearns, a father of four with 46 prior convictions, is now confined under strict Covid‑19 prison rules, spending 22 hours and 40 minutes a day in his cell and unable to see his family. He had hoped to represent Ireland in bodybuilding before the pandemic and has recently completed drug rehabilitation. Derek Hearns was acquitted.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing on 30 April 2020, the judge refused bail for 21‑year‑old Dominic Rogers, who had been on bail since June 2019. Rogers had been caught with a stolen car and later broke into a home in Lucan. He has five prior convictions, all while on bail, including drug possession and traffic offences. He pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen car at M1 Toll Plaza on 28 June 2019 and to burglary at Foxpark on 26 September 2019. Rogers has taken nine bench warrants between May and July 2019 and failed to comply with bail conditions, notably signing on at Lucan Garda Station 83 times. The judge, citing the likelihood of a custodial sentence and concerns that Rogers might commit further offences, remanded him in custody and set sentencing for 13 May 2020.
Ruzmond Muwaniri, 32, was sentenced to four years in prison for a series of unprovoked assaults that took place between April 29 and June 12, 2019. He admitted attacking two men in April, a woman in June, and head‑butting Garda Barry Ryan while the Garda was taking his details at Bridewell Garda Station. Muwaniri pleaded guilty to three charges of assault causing harm and one charge of assault. He has 71 previous convictions, including seven for assault. The judge noted his diagnosed schizophrenia, cannabis use, and mental health difficulties, and suspended the final 12 months of the sentence on strict conditions, including engagement with the Probation Service for a year after release. The court emphasised the need to protect society while acknowledging the possibility of future re‑offending. The sentencing took place at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Austin Byrne, aged 43, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years' imprisonment for a series of burglaries committed in April 2019. He pleaded guilty to breaking into three Dublin residences: Wintergarden on 10 April, Byrnes Lane on 17 April, and Fitzwilliam Street Lower on 19 April. The offences involved the theft of clothing, foreign currency, an Apple MacBook, an Apple Watch, earrings, chains, anti‑epileptic medicine, a wedding ring, and other jewellery. Byrne had 73 prior convictions, including burglary, aggravated burglary and robbery. The judge, Melanie Greally, noted that Byrne's primary motive appeared to be raising money for drugs, and that his previous convictions and the value of the stolen items aggravated the case. She gave credit for his guilty pleas and engagement with addiction services, and suspended the final 12 months of the sentence on strict conditions.
A 19‑year‑old Dubliner was sentenced to four years' imprisonment, with the final year suspended, for stabbing his uncle in the chest with a kitchen knife on 27 August 2018. The teenager, who had threatened the uncle earlier that day, stabbed him once in the chest, causing a collapsed lung and serious injury. He had followed the uncle after the attack and attempted to finish him off, and had also beaten the victim with his crutch. The court noted the defendant's history of carrying knives, drug addiction, alcohol use, ADHD, dyslexia and being on the autism spectrum. He pleaded guilty in January 2020 and had a prior conviction for assault. The judge reduced the headline sentence from six to four years, citing the early guilty plea and remorse, and imposed a suspended year on conditions of abstaining from drugs, attending education and addressing anger management. The victim fully recovered and forgave the nephew.
A Facebook analyst, Abed Benchenna, aged 25, was sentenced to two years in prison without any suspended portion after failing to return from France for several months. He was found in possession of €7,500 worth of cannabis and had previously been convicted six times, including for obstructing a drug search. Benchenna had been given two opportunities by the court, including a chance to plead guilty early and provide negative urine samples, but he did not engage with probation services or notify authorities of his return from France. He claimed injuries from insect bites and a dislocated shoulder prevented his return, but the judge deemed these excuses insufficient. The court noted his failure to cooperate wasted the court's time and the probation service's resources, and he is now in custody following the bench warrant.
Anthony Maguire, 30, of Courtown, Co Wexford, was sentenced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for possession of drugs for sale or supply. He pleaded guilty to the charge relating to an incident at Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Co Dublin, on June 3, 2017. The court heard that during the Forbidden Fruit music festival, gardaí in plain clothes observed Maguire engaging in drug transactions. He allegedly resisted a search and attempted to flee before being arrested, at which point MDMA tablets with a total value of €3,468 were found in his bag. Judge Melanie Greally had previously adjourned the case for 12 months in March 2019, remanding Maguire on bail under Probation Service supervision. However, the judge noted that probation supervision "never got off the ground" and that Maguire experienced a complete relapse into drug use. She also acknowledged his guilty plea, expression of remorse, and the explanation that he had a significant drug debt at the time of the offence. Judge Greally sentenced Maguire to two-and-a-half years imprisonment. She suspended the final 12 months of the sentence on strict conditions, requiring him to follow all directions of the Probation Service for 12 months post-release.
Anthony Rossitter, a 32‑year‑old drug addict from County Wexford, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to three attempted robbery charges after threatening staff in three city‑centre shops on 15 May 2019 with a large pair of stainless‑steel scissors. He entered a Gala shop on Abbey Street, placed a plastic bag on the counter and demanded cash, threatening to cut a staff member if he did not comply. After leaving without money, he went to a Spar shop in Temple Bar and then to a Gala shop on Dorset Street, again demanding cash and showing the scissors, but left empty‑handed and was arrested shortly thereafter. Rossitter has 85 prior convictions, including 46 for traffic offences, and a history of assault and drug dealing. Judge Melanie Greally sentenced him to four‑and‑a‑half years' imprisonment, suspending the final 12 months on strict conditions, including 12 months of probation after release.
Anthony Sweeney, 37, of St Marks Crescent, Clondalkin, was sentenced by Judge Melanie Greally at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to seven-and-a-half years imprisonment for multiple robberies, including two at McDonald's Liffey Valley on 5 August 2019 and 5 September 2019, a robbery of a nail salon on Collinstown Road, and a robbery of a pedestrian on the Liffey Valley footbridge on 27 May 2019. He pleaded guilty to all charges. The court noted his 35 prior convictions, his drug addiction, and his attempts to address it while in custody, though the school he attended closed due to coronavirus. The sentence was aggravated by the use of a knife, placing it near a victim's throat, and by the fact that the last offence was committed while he was on bail. Two years of the term were suspended on strict conditions, including probation supervision for six months before release and 12 months after release.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, Judge Martin Nolan sentenced 44‑year‑old Keith McCarthy to four years' imprisonment for a series of robberies carried out after a relapse into drug addiction. McCarthy, a former drug counsellor who had previously overcome his addiction, pleaded guilty to two robberies at Eddie Rocket's in Finglas, a robbery at BoyleSports in Donabate, an attempted robbery at Ladbrokes in Mulhuddart, and two driving‑without‑insurance offences. He admitted stealing almost €2,000 from Eddie Rocket's and €5,000 from BoyleSports, using an imitation firearm and a scarf to conceal his face. The judge noted McCarthy's history of 38 convictions, including 30 traffic offences, and his prior suspended robbery sentence in 2015. He highlighted McCarthy's remorse, cooperation with Gardaí, and his role as a caring father and son, while emphasising the need for him to overcome his addictive habits. McCarthy was also disqualified from driving for four years.
In a Central Criminal Court hearing, an 18‑year‑old Dubliner pleaded guilty to intentionally causing serious harm to his uncle after a dispute over heroin. The nephew stabbed the uncle once in the chest with a kitchen knife on 27 August 2018 in Tallaght. The uncle survived, made a full recovery, forgave the nephew and declined to give a victim impact statement. During treatment for the stabbing, doctors discovered a tumour in the uncle's chest that required medical attention. The court noted the nephew's prior convictions for assault and knife possession, his troubled upbringing, and his expressed remorse. The judge was instructed to consider the nephew's age, remorse, and the uncle's recovery when determining the sentence, which was to be delivered on 27 April. The case remains at the sentencing stage.