Alan Hutch, 36, was jailed after breaking into the Offices of the Revenue Commissioners on 7 March 2018, stealing a mobile phone and assaulting Karl Higgins, who tried to stop him. Hutch entered the building through an unlocked door, walked to Higgins' office, took a white box containing the phone, and when Higgins confronted him, a scuffle ensued. Hutch punched Higgins several times, grabbed a steel pole and struck him in the neck or chest area. Two colleagues subdued Hutch until Gardaí arrived. Hutch was arrested, pleaded guilty to burglary and assault, and was sentenced by Judge Melanie Greally to four years' imprisonment with the final 18 months suspended on strict conditions. The sentence was back‑dated to the date of the offence. Hutch has 73 prior convictions and has been in custody since his arrest. No victim impact report was filed.
Amir Essalhi (34), of Millbrook Avenue, Dublin 13, was sentenced in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after pleading guilty to two car thefts committed in 2017. During the sentencing, Essalhi told Judge Melanie Greally that he turned to heroin to cope with the 2011 murder of his brother, Adil Essalhi, who was stabbed and burnt in west Dublin. Wayne Kinsella (46), formerly of the Plaza, Tyrellstown, was previously convicted of murdering Adil Essalhi and jailed for life. Essalhi stated that his addiction led to job loss and criminal activity, including a 2017 partially suspended sentence for six counts of robbery in Clondalkin, which was conditional on seeking drug treatment. His defence counsel, Gerardine Small BL, noted that Essalhi sought treatment but relapsed while awaiting placement. The court acknowledged the disturbing impact of his brother's murder and Essalhi's remorse. Judge Greally imposed concurrent sentences of 12 months and 21 months, to run from December when he went into custody.
Nermana Gojak, 44, worked as a carer and housekeeper for a 90‑year‑old retired GP for ten years. She stole €41,380 from the GP's sale proceeds by withdrawing cash, using the victim's laser card and transferring money to the victim's current account. Gojak pleaded guilty to theft at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. The victim, who had raised the money from a lifetime of hard work, gave a victim impact statement describing betrayal and financial insecurity. Judge Melanie Greally sentenced Gojak to three years' imprisonment, suspending the final 12 months on strict conditions, including 12 months' engagement with the Probation Service. The sentence reflected Gojak's lack of prior convictions, cooperation, remorse and the fact that the money had not been repaid. The case was reported to Gardaí, who arrested Gojak in January 2018 after her admissions.
A 38‑year‑old former general manager of the Dublin pub Four Dame Lane, Donna McGarry, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft for stealing almost €12,000 between 4 October and 6 November 2017. The court heard that McGarry was under severe financial pressure, had suffered a miscarriage, and was facing a potential repossession of her apartment. She admitted the thefts, transferred the €11,900 stolen to the victim's bank account, and promised to repay the money. McGarry had no prior convictions and was currently employed full‑time in hospitality. Judge Melanie Greally indicated an intention to impose a suspended sentence, citing exceptional circumstances and mitigating factors, and adjourned sentencing to 29 March to allow the transfer to complete. The case was heard at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Rafal Winter, 37, admitted stealing more than €10,000 worth of lottery scratch cards from Spar, The Crescent and Mulhuddart shops between July and September 2017. He claimed jealousy after friends discussed pay rises prompted him to take up to 30 books of cards, win between €2,000 and €3,000, and cash the winnings at various shops. Winter voluntarily presented himself to Gardaí, stating he took two to four books a week and scratched them himself. He offered to resign and repay the shop, but the loss remains €10,567. He has no prior convictions in Ireland or Poland. The court noted his remorse, lack of wealth, and that he was the sole earner for his family. Judge Melanie Greally adjourned sentencing to October to allow time for potential repayment arrangements. Rafal Winter pleaded guilty.
Breda Cahill, owner of three convenience stores, gave a victim impact statement describing a "reign of terror" after her shops were robbed six times. She said she had to spend every minute in the shops to support staff and keep them safe. The statement was prepared for the sentencing of Brendan Payne, 36, who robbed one of her shops and was prevented from raiding another by Gardaí. Payne pleaded guilty to possession of a knife with intent to intimidate and to robbery. Judge Melanie Greally imposed a nine‑year prison sentence, suspending the last three years on the condition that Payne keep the peace, engage with Probation Services for 18 months, attend prison drug services and take up residential drug treatment. The sentence includes both offences and runs consecutively. Payne admitted he was tired of offending and had used drugs since age 12, citing his mother's alcoholism as a trigger.
Kevin Coughlan, aged 23, was sentenced to five years in prison for burglarising 17 occupied homes and stealing 13 cars, engagement rings, passports and other items between May 2016 and September 2017. He admitted stealing baby clothes, a baby's birth certificate and a marriage certificate during one burglary. Victims reported severe emotional distress, including sleeplessness and financial hardship, with a total economic loss exceeding €130,000. Judge Melanie Greally suspended the final two and a half years of the sentence on strict conditions, requiring Coughlan to engage with the Probation Service for 18 months and attend addiction counselling. He pleaded guilty, citing hunger, rent and a drug debt as motives, and expressed remorse in a letter to the court. The case was largely based on his admissions, with no violence reported during the burglaries. The judge noted his homelessness and drug addiction at the time of the offences.
John Doyle, 38, was arrested after looting a Centra shop in Tallaght during Storm Emma. He entered the shop for only one minute and 30 seconds before Gardaí arrived, carrying three packets of cigarettes. Doyle pleaded guilty to trespassing with intent to commit theft. While Gardaí pursued him, he threw trolleys to obstruct them and was found crouched in a store room. Two other men were present, one with a sledgehammer. Doyle has 111 prior convictions, including robbery, burglary, possession of stolen property, road traffic offences and criminal damage. A co‑accused, David Berney, already received an 18‑month suspended sentence. The court adjourned sentencing to July to allow a probation report. The incident involved a mechanical saw breach of the shop's front shutter and Gardaí arriving by jeep and on foot. Doyle's defence highlighted his panic, shame and claim of being lured into the chaos. The case remains at the pleading stage.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, Liam Black, aged 46, received a three‑year suspended sentence for trespass and theft after a 2015 incident where he shouted obscenities, smashed windows and brandished a golf club at his ex‑partner's home. The judge noted a significant change in his behaviour since his 2015 release from prison, where he had served five years for aiding cash van raiders and for possessing €70,000 of cocaine. Black had pleaded guilty to the 2015 trespass and theft, and had not attracted Garda attention since then. He had previously been sentenced to seven years for cocaine possession, with the final two years suspended, and had addressed his drug addiction and cared for his son and niece. The court deemed it not in the community's interest to return him to prison.
Nicholas Keane, 41, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to ten counts of handling stolen vehicles and two charges of inducing another to purchase a stolen vehicle between 11 July 2016 and 25 October 2016. He admitted selling ten stolen cars on the "Donedeal" website for €88,795, receiving about €500 for each sale. Keane, who used the alias David O'Brien, met buyers in public areas around Dublin, handed over registration details and accepted cash payments. He claimed he was motivated by financial hardship and wanted to provide for his eight children. Keane apologized to victims, expressing guilt and offering to repay them if he won the lottery. Judge Melanie Greally ordered a probation report, remanded him in custody, and adjourned the case for finalisation on 28 May. The article reports that Keane's role was limited to selling the cars, not stealing them, and that he was not responsible for placing the adverts on the website.
Rishi Raj Huree, 37, of Beaumont, Dublin, pleaded guilty in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to robbing €28,870 from Twenty Two Night Club on 12 June 2018. He stole the money to repay a loan for his mother. Judge Melanie Greally sentenced him to two and a half years' imprisonment, but suspended the entire term on the condition that he keep the peace and be of good behaviour for two and a half years. Garda Jack McGovern explained that the general manager had tried to open a safe but could not find the key, and Huree initially denied knowing the key before admitting the theft and asking if he could return the money to keep his job. Huree was arrested two days later at Dublin Airport with over €15,000 in his backpack; the rest of the money was found in his house, and €25,660 was recovered by Gardaí.
Chico Makamda, 36, of Viking House, Waterford, pleaded guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to sexual assault, false imprisonment and robbery committed on April 16, 2018, in Adare Lane, Dublin. He attacked a woman in her early fifties who was relieving herself behind bins, punching her three times, attempting to pull her jeans down, and masturbating in front of her. The victim fell, hit her head, and later discovered her wallet and phone missing. Makamda fled when another man arrived. He was sentenced to seven and a half years for false imprisonment and robbery, with the final two and a half years suspended for two and a half years on the condition he leave the country within 14 days of release. He received a concurrent four‑year sentence for sexual assault, backdated to the day of his first custody. The judge noted the victim's severe trauma and the aggravated nature of the offences.
Wayne O'Dwyer, aged 30, pleaded guilty to robbery at the Eurogiant store in Carrick‑on‑Suir on 31 March 2016. He threatened a female shop assistant, demanding €250 and the till, and was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment with the final three years suspended by Judge Thomas Teehan on 15 December 2017. O'Dwyer's lawyers argued the judge sought to make an example of him because of the perceived rise in violent crime in the town. The Court of Appeal, led by Justice John Edwards, rejected this claim, stating the judge was entitled to consider general deterrence as a sentencing objective and that the sentence was not disproportionate. The appeal was dismissed, confirming the seven‑year headline sentence with a three‑year suspended portion and the effective custody term as imposed.
Two Dublin men, Eddie Valentine (44) and Mark Kavanagh (40), pleaded guilty to stealing a cash register from Leisureplex, Stillorgan, during a children's birthday party on 4 May 2017. The theft, captured on CCTV, involved €95 in cash and four vending‑machine keys. At a hearing in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Judge Karen O'Connor imposed a headline sentence of three years for each, reduced to two years fully suspended, citing early guilty pleas and chronic drug addiction. Both men were ordered to be supervised by Probation Services for 12 months and to comply with education and drug‑addiction treatment directives. The court noted the incident's aggravating context—children present and a party in progress—and praised a staff member who detained the men. The cash register was never recovered, and the victim impact statement estimated the loss at just under €1,000, including a €500 replacement and €400 for additional security measures.
A man has been sentenced to nine years' imprisonment at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for a series of robberies committed across Dublin between March and April 2018, with an additional offence in May 2017. Dean Gray, aged 31, of Buttercup Drive, Darndale, Dublin, pleaded guilty to seven robbery offences, attempted robbery, threats to kill, and production of weapons including a knife and screwdriver. The court heard Gray robbed €350 from a shop in Baldoyle after arriving by taxi, which he then tipped before departing. He committed further robberies at retail outlets and a tanning salon within days of each other. A three-year consecutive sentence was imposed for a street robbery committed while on bail. Judge Patricia Ryan suspended the final three years conditional on good behaviour and peace-keeping for three years following release. She ordered engagement with the Probation Service, drug addiction treatment, and employment support. Gray has 69 previous convictions, including 21 robberies. His defence counsel noted his difficult background and stated his aspiration to seek residential drug treatment.
John Murphy (69), a former travel agent and founder of the Children to Lapland charity, was convicted of four counts of theft totaling €18,643 from the charity between June and July 2010. He had pleaded not guilty, arguing that the charity owed him money and that funds routinely moved between accounts. The prosecution described his defence as the "Father Ted defence." A jury found him guilty after 42 minutes of deliberation, and he received a wholly suspended three‑year sentence in 2016. On 1 March 2019, the Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal. Justice Isobel Kennedy, joined by Justices George Birmingham and Patrick McCarthy, upheld the conviction, noting that evidence of an honest belief in entitlement was insufficient and that the trial judge's instructions to the jury were correct. The appeal was therefore dismissed.
Liam Walsh, a 27‑year‑old from Tallaght, was sentenced to two‑and‑a‑half years in prison for eight thefts in Dublin city centre in September and October 2017, including stealing a wallet from a pregnant woman at Supermacs and a handbag from an 87‑year‑old woman at the Shelbourne Hotel. He also pleaded guilty to an attempt to escape lawful custody at Pearse Street Garda Station. On 31 May 2018 Judge Martin Nolan imposed the original sentence. On 28 February 2019 the Court of Appeal increased Walsh's sentence to 35 months, but suspended the final five months for two years post‑release. The suspended portion will be activated if he breaches the conditions of his good‑behaviour bond and probation requirements. The court structured the sentence as eight consecutive month terms for each count, then reduced it by ten months to reach the final two‑and‑a‑half‑year term with the suspended five‑month period.
In a 2019 court hearing, Gardaí used a sting operation to investigate a series of car thefts by purchasing a stolen jet ski listed on Adverts.ie. The seller, Denis Kaczor Niecko, 30, fled in a van and crashed 200 metres up the road. Niecko later pleaded guilty to handling a stolen Audi A3 in Balscadden, Co Dublin, between 9 and 22 February 2017, and a stolen Nissan Juke in Poppintree, Dublin 11, between 19 April and 11 May 2017. He was arrested when Gardaí found a car key to the Audi in his van and subsequently located the stolen vehicles, both fitted with false registration plates, tax and NCT discs, and certificates. Fingerprint evidence linked Niecko to both cars. He has 23 prior convictions, including handling and possessing stolen property and theft, and has lived in Ireland for about ten years.
In a Dublin trial, 37‑year‑old Laura Kenna, who has no fixed abode, is charged with attempted murder and assault causing serious harm after attacking Fionnuala Burke on Lower Drumcondra Road on 3 January 2017. Kenna pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. The Central Criminal Court heard that the key issue is Kenna's mental state. Consultant psychiatrist Dr Stephen Monks testified that Kenna suffers from schizoaffective disorder, a chronic illness related to schizophrenia, and had been homeless since 2013. He described a pattern of violent assaults on homeless service users in Belfast, including two attempted eye‑gouges, and an attack on a woman at a Luas stop a few weeks before the alleged murder. Monks argued that Kenna's attack on Burke was driven by delusions of death, vampires and cannibalism, not robbery, and that she could not control her actions. The jury will consider these conflicting psychiatric opinions before deciding on the verdict.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, Vasile Marin, aged 24, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for robbing an 81‑year‑old pensioner in Sutton on 10 September 2016. The victim, who had recently had a pacemaker implanted, was robbed of a €300 purse while she was shopping at Eurospar in Bayside. Marin, a father of two living in Foxborough Close, Lucan, pleaded guilty to robbery. He had two prior theft convictions and was motivated by a gambling debt, according to his defence counsel. Judge Melanie Greally imposed a three‑year sentence with the final 18 months suspended, noting Marin's lack of employment history and receipt of disability benefits for depression. The victim, who was terrified and unable to leave her home for six months after the incident, expressed that she had moved on but no longer uses cash and relies on home help for shopping.
Patrick Paget, 30, of Ballymun, was sentenced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after pleading guilty to two robberies and an attempted robbery of personal belongings at Abbey Street, Dublin, on January 18, 2017. Judge Patrick Quinn imposed a 20-month sentence, with the final 15 months suspended, and credited any time Paget spent in custody. The judge described the offences as "cowardly" but noted Paget's significant rehabilitation efforts, stating he had done "Trojan work" and remained out of trouble since his last offence. The sentence was suspended on the condition that Paget remains drug and alcohol free and attends NA meetings. Prosecution evidence highlighted Paget's 128 previous convictions, including 25 under the Larceny Act, and an 18-month prison term for burglary in 2015. Defence counsel submitted that Paget has been drug-free for 23 months and has stable accommodation with his partner and child. Co-accused Paul Coady, 27, of Cabra, also pleaded guilty to the same offences on the same date, as well as an attempted robbery at Tesco Express, Aungier Street, on January 20, 2018. Coady, who has nine previous convictions for minor offences, was not sentenced at this stage and will be sentenced in October.
Michael Wall, 18, was found guilty of robbing an unoccupied house in Willowfield, Dublin 4, where he stole cash and jewellery worth €11,310. DNA evidence linked him to the scene after he smashed a bedroom window and left blood on the property. He pleaded guilty to a single count of robbery. Judge Martin Nolan sentenced him to two and a half years in prison, but the sentence was fully suspended on the condition that he keep the peace and comply with Probation Services supervision for 18 months. Wall had no prior convictions. The victim, who did not submit a Victim Impact Statement, discovered the house was left open and the window smashed. Gardaí noted the thief had injured himself during the break‑in. The case was prosecuted by John Berry Bl and defended by Marc Thompson Bl, who cited Wall's recent bereavement and drug issues. Probation Services assessed Wall as a moderate risk of re‑offending.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, Michael Rooney Dignam, 38, pleaded guilty to robbery at a Centra shop on 7 May 2017. He entered the shop, threatened a worker with a syringe filled with red liquid, claiming he had "the virus" and demanded the till be opened. The worker saw the syringe, which she believed contained his blood. Rooney Dignam stole €600. He admitted no memory of the incident but later identified himself on CCTV. He has 47 prior convictions, including 18 for robbery and one for manslaughter. He is serving a six‑year sentence, with the final 18 months suspended for three robberies in May 2017, and is scheduled for release on 29 September 2020. Judge Martin Nolan sentenced him to 18 months' imprisonment, to start today.
Brian Kavanagh, 33, was jailed after attempting to mug US military policeman Christian Escobar in Dublin using a roll of tin foil that he claimed was a silver bar. Kavanagh, under the influence of drugs, tried to seize Escobar's backpack, leading to a scuffle that caused both men to crash through a shop window, damaging about €2,000 worth of goods. Escobar suffered severe tendon damage to his wrist. Garda Theresa Brady observed Kavanagh behaving violently, head‑butting security guards and a glass partition, and deemed him unfit for interview for six hours. Kavanagh pleaded guilty to attempted robbery, assault causing harm and violent behaviour in a police station. Judge Karen O'Connor, noting 147 prior convictions and failed attempts to address his addictions, sentenced him to two years and nine months' imprisonment, rejecting his offer to engage with Probation Services.
A 21‑year‑old Dublin man, Dean Craig, caused pedestrians to run for cover when he sped through a village main street, hitting a speed ramp and launching his car into the air. He was pursued by Gardaí, abandoned the vehicle with two passengers, and fled on foot. Craig pleaded guilty to endangerment and to possession of stolen goods, including a PlayStation console, cash, an iPod, a safe, an imitation revolver, passports, a balaclava, a box cutter, a screwdriver and a torch. He also pleaded guilty to possessing a balaclava, a box cutter, a screwdriver and a torch with intent. Judge Melanie Greally imposed 240 hours of community service in lieu of two and a half years' imprisonment for the possession offences and adjourned his sentence for the endangerment and possession charges for 12 months, allowing him to engage with the Probation Service. He remains on bail until February next year.
In a 2016 incident on Marigold Avenue, Darndale, Dublin, 36‑year‑old Paul Evans attempted to rob taxi driver Frank Rowan. Evans brandished a 6mm air pistol, claiming it was a "practical joke," and threatened Rowan with the gun. Rowan, fearing a real shot, managed to overpower Evans, who repeatedly ran at him and demanded the gun back. Rowan struck Evans on the head with the gun, causing a small forehead injury. A passerby called the Gardaí, who later arrested Evans, who was wearing a black ski mask. Evans pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and unlawful possession of a realistic imitation firearm. He claimed the pistol belonged to his son and was used for shooting cans. The court noted Evans had no prior violent convictions and adjourned sentencing to 16 May, remanding him in custody until then.
In a robbery on Station Road, Lusk, on 9 March 2016, Folarin Odunlami (22) and an accomplice used a long steak knife to threaten a young man, demanding his phone, wallet and €110. The victim fled to a nursing home, called Gardaí, and later identified the two men at a train station. Gardaí chased them; they fell 15 feet from a footbridge into a carpark and hid. Garda Air Support Unit detected them a short time later, lying under brambles, using thermal imaging from a helicopter. Odunlami pleaded guilty to robbing the victim's phone, wallet and cash. At a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, Judge Melanie Greally noted his remorse and lack of further offences, ordering 240 hours of community service. The case highlighted the use of thermal imaging to locate suspects hiding in vegetation.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, Damien Reilly, 36, pleaded guilty to two robberies in Stoneybatter on 24 February 2017 and 7 April 2017. During the April incident, a nurse was robbed at an ATM when Reilly seized her and threatened to stab her with a needle, saying "Don't fucking move, don't fucking scream, I have a needle in my hand" and "stick" her with it. The woman screamed, tried to escape, was caught in a headlock and fell to the ground. A passer‑by struck Reilly with a bottle, after which he fled over a wall and was later found "cowering" by Gardaí. The victim reported €200 stolen and the loss of a phone with "precious images" of her daughter. In a separate robbery weeks earlier, Reilly grabbed a woman's bag strap, knocked her to the ground and she banged her head on a wall; she claimed €575 was stolen.
In December 2016, 31‑year‑old Scott Grant armed with a wooden branch threatened staff at a Costcutters shop on Hampton Street, Balbriggan, demanding money. He fled when the shop manager confronted him with a wooden sweeping brush. Later that month he damaged a parking meter to obtain coins for his drug habit. A witness described him wearing black clothes and pink gloves; a Garda arrested a man matching that description, and Grant was found with a hammer in his pants. He was released on bail and, in September 2017, he again robbed a local shop armed with a tree branch, taking €100 worth of scratch cards. He was identified when he tried to cash the cards at a newsagent and was arrested. Grant pleaded guilty to attempted robbery in December 2016 and robbery in September 2017, and admitted a further attempted robbery on 17 April 2018.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, Martin Lumsden, 35, pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of a firearm after stealing from a Mace shop in All Saints Park, Raheny, on 7 May 2018. He had previously pleaded guilty to trespass and theft at Gaelscoil Cholmcille, a primary school, on 18 April 2018, where he and co‑accused John Finn, 32, had thrown a bag of coins over the school's railings, later found to contain €880.78, all of which was recovered. Lumsden stole about €500 from two tills in the Mace shop, none of which was recovered, and the firearm was not recovered. He has 110 prior convictions, including hijacking, false imprisonment, robbery and burglary. Finn has 17 prior convictions. The judge ordered probation reports for both men and adjourned sentencing to 21 May.
Eddie Valentine, 44, and Mark Kavanagh, 40, both from Rathfarnham, pleaded guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to stealing a cash register from Leisureplex in Stillorgan on 4 May 2017. Judge Karen O'Connor remanded them in custody and adjourned sentencing to 1 March next month.
Sean O'Kelly, 24, was sentenced to six years in jail for arson that endangered an elderly woman, her granddaughter and a ten‑week‑old great‑grandson. He set two cars on fire in a driveway, melting the front door and forcing the family to seek refuge in the back garden. The court heard that the blaze could have spread, posing catastrophic risk. O'Kelly also vandalised six other cars, stole items, and was convicted of robbery, burglary and criminal damage on the same night. He admitted to arson in an underground carpark, causing an estimated €90,000 in damage, later settled for over €76,000. He has 24 prior convictions, including theft and firearms offences. The judge imposed consecutive sentences totalling 12 years, suspended the final six years on strict conditions, citing his rehabilitation efforts and lack of offences since 2017. The court considered his drug addiction, his apology letters, and the testimonies in his favour. Sean O'Kelly pleaded guilty.
Brendan Treacy, 35, will be sentenced in July for making a false emergency call that a gangland member had been shot at Peadar Kearney House, Railway Street, Dublin. The call prompted 11 Garda units, a fire brigade truck and an ambulance to respond, and the emergency operation lasted 24 minutes before being called off. Treacy admitted the call was a "moment of madness" while heavily intoxicated on tablets and vodka. He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to making a false report at an unknown location in Dublin 1 on 23 August 2017. Treacy has 40 previous convictions, including theft, road traffic and drug offences. He has since detoxed from tablets, is methadone and heroin free, and seeks treatment at a residential centre. Judge Martina Baxter adjourned the case to allow Treacy to access treatment, warning that such conduct is unacceptable in a democratic society.
Alan McDonagh, 33, was jailed for four years after stealing a rental car fitted with a tracking device. He pleaded guilty to burglary and unauthorised taking of a car on September 8, 2017, and was tracked by gardaí to the N7. McDonagh, who has 173 previous convictions including 31 for burglary, has spent more than half his life in custody and became addicted to heroin at 16. The court accepted his desire to become drug‑free and suspended the last year of a five‑year term on the condition he keep the peace, engage with the Probation Service for 12 months and remain drug‑ and alcohol‑free. He also admitted robbing a woman at St Stephen's Green on November 3, 2017, for which a concurrent sentence was imposed. All sentences are back‑dated to July 18, the day he entered custody.
Ellavita Flynn, aged 24, admitted to stealing more than €6,500 worth of designer goods from Brown Thomas on Grafton Street between 19 December 2017 and 2 January 2018. She took a Michael Kors watch (€395), a Prada handbag (€2,400), a Gucci handbag (€1,490) and a Louis Vuitton handbag (€2,280) without paying, four times over two weeks. The Louis Vuitton handbag was recovered; the other items were sold on the street for "relatively small money". Flynn pleaded guilty at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. She has three prior theft convictions dealt with at District Court level. The court heard she had no fixed abode and had addiction issues, having begun abusing substances at 18 after being in care as a teenager. The judge adjourned the case for six months to allow Flynn to demonstrate she is addressing her drug problems and gaining employment training, and remanded her on continuing bail until July.
In February 2017, Dean Fitzpatrick, 26, assaulted David Curran on Grafton Street, causing a broken nose, three jaw fractures and a fracture above his eye. Curran required surgery, multiple stitches and spent seven months recovering, suffering nerve damage and losing several teeth. The assault left him traumatised, leading to a drop‑out from college and loss of his degree. Curran's victim impact statement, read by Antonia Boyle BL, detailed his mental health decline, social life disruption and ongoing physical injuries. Fitzpatrick pleaded guilty to assault causing harm at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Judge Melanie Greally adjourned the case to 25 July to allow Fitzpatrick to complete a residential drug treatment programme and ordered a probation report. Garda Paul Jordan recounted finding Curran with blood from nose and mouth, and that the incident followed a night out at a nightclub and McDonald's. Fitzpatrick's 70 prior convictions include assault, theft, public order and road traffic offences.
Catherine Gaffney, 52, was ordered by the High Court to be extradited to Northern Ireland for alleged thefts. The warrant alleges she stole six Mulberry handbags valued at £6,000 from House of Fraser in Belfast between July and November 2016, and attempted to steal a seventh bag and purse in December 2016. She also faces a charge of obstructing a constable. Gaffney opposed surrender on Article 3 and 8 grounds, alleging sectarian mistreatment at Hydebank Prison and health risks. Ms Justice Donnelly rejected these objections, finding the alleged thefts planned and high-value. The court directed her surrender. Gaffney is currently serving a sentence with an anticipated release date of August 24, 2024, and is in custody for pending Circuit Court matters. The matter was adjourned until July 22, and she was remanded in custody until that date. In 2018, Gaffney was jailed for a year after being found guilty by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of stealing three Chanel handbags from Brown Thomas in 2015.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing on 4 February 2019, 22‑year‑old Dillon Harris pleaded guilty to several offences. He admitted spraying "blood, phlegm and saliva" into the faces of Garda Gerard Whelan, Garda Peter Byrne and Dublin Fire Brigade Sub Officer Peter Fitzgerald on 21 November 2017, after a stolen Volkswagen Estate crashed into a wall. Harris also pleaded guilty to driving a vehicle without the owner's consent and to reckless endangerment on the same date. He caused €3,456 of damage to an Opel Corsa and was deemed unfit for interview after arrest, later consenting to a blood sample. The court heard he had no prior convictions, was not involved in the theft, and was dealing with addiction problems. The judge remanded him on continuing bail until later this year, when sentencing will occur.
John Murphy, 69, founder of the Children to Lapland charity, was convicted of four counts of theft totalling €18,643 between June and July 2010. The charity, established in 1987, raised funds to send terminally ill children to Lapland. Murphy also ran United Travel, a travel agency that closed in 2012. At trial, he claimed the charity owed him money and that funds moved normally between accounts, a defence described by the prosecution as the 'Father Ted defence'. A jury found him guilty after 42 minutes, and Judge Pat McCartan imposed a wholly suspended three‑year sentence on 16 March 2016. Murphy has now appealed, arguing that the trial judge denied the jury the chance to consider an 'honest belief' defence and that the judge incorrectly stated no defence was available. The Court of Appeal has reserved judgment. Murphy was not present at the appeal hearing. John Murphy pleaded not guilty.
Michael Ward, 19, of Co Longford, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to criminal damage, assault causing harm, and assault while attempting to commit theft at Oberstown Children's Detention Campus in Lusk, Co Dublin, on May 29, 2017. The court heard that Ward is currently serving a four-year sentence, with the final 12 months suspended, for prior criminal damage offences at the same facility. Prosecution evidence alleged that Ward assaulted a staff member, barricaded himself in an office with other youths, and struck Campus Director Pat Bergin in the head with a metal bar. Ward and two others allegedly used an angle grinder to cut through the campus fence to escape, causing €17,135 in damage. Ward has 56 previous convictions. Judge Patricia Ryan noted that Ward minimised his actions and ordered a governor's report and a probation report to be prepared. The matter was adjourned for sentencing to March 22 of this year.
A man from Cootehill, County Cavan, has been sentenced to eighteen years imprisonment following his conviction on multiple charges related to a tiger kidnapping at a post office in north Dublin. Paschal Kelly, aged fifty-three, was convicted of false imprisonment, robbery, threatening to kill, and possession of a stolen vehicle. The offences occurred on 25 September 2014, when Kelly and two accomplices entered the home of a postmistress in Malahide, bound three women with cable ties, and transported them to Bayside Post Office in Sutton. During the incident, Kelly threatened to set the women alight. At Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Judge Karen O'Connor commended the three women for their courage and resourcefulness, noting that one victim's quick thinking enabled gardaí to intervene and recover approximately €92,000. The judge found the offence premeditated and aggravated by the violation of the home, use of firearms, and threats made. Kelly's conviction followed a nine-week trial. Credit for time already served in custody has been applied to the sentence.
Trevor Walsh, a 53‑year‑old taxi driver, was sentenced to two years in prison for stealing €75,000 from the bank account of 83‑year‑old Pamela O'Brien, who suffers from dementia and now resides in a nursing home. Walsh used O'Brien's bank card and forged her signature on documents to open a new account and transfer funds from her old EBS account. He also withdrew cash up to €500 and paid utility bills using her card. The thefts, uncovered after friends reviewed her statements, spanned 21 months and included five admitted counts out of 21 charges. Walsh admitted the thefts, cited a drinking problem, and offered €4,000 to the victim. Judge Pauline Codd noted the breach of trust and the vulnerability of the victim, suspended the last year of a three‑year term on the condition that Walsh attend alcohol‑addiction programmes under the Probation Service.
A 25‑year‑old Dublin man, John Keogh, was arrested while attempting to move a stolen Ford Mondeo. Keogh claimed he had been asked to collect the vehicle as a favour for third parties and that he had received the key earlier that day from "some fellas." He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of a stolen vehicle at the Louis Fitzgerald Hotel in Clondalkin on 24 March 2017. The car had been reported stolen from Laytown, Co. Meath, ten days earlier and was found parked outside the hotel with false number plates. Gardaí had set up surveillance after receiving confidential information about its location. Keogh tried to discard the key when approached by Gardaí and was arrested after a brief struggle. He admitted the facts during the interview. The judge, after considering his 29 previous minor convictions and his family background, imposed a three‑year suspended sentence.
Michael Maughan, 24, of Hazel Hill, Tallaght, pleaded guilty in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 21 January 2018 to handling €80,000 worth of stolen jewellery. The items, seized after an accomplice tried to sell them to a cash‑for‑gold shop, were stolen in a burglary in Lucan three days earlier. Garda Redmond O'Leary described a surveillance operation outside Gold Digger Jewellery that led to Maughan's arrest when a Volkswagen Golf stopped and a woman was found carrying two bags of jewellery. The jewellery, weighing one kilogram, included 48 adult bracelets, three baby bracelets, rings, cuff links and earrings, many of which had sentimental value. Maughan's 40 prior convictions included trespass, theft, criminal damage, road traffic offences and failure to appear at court. Judge Melanie Greally imposed a four‑year sentence, suspending the final two years. She noted the jewellery's sentimental value and the fact that some items were permanently damaged.
A 23-year-old man has been sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment, with the final twelve months suspended, following a high-speed car chase across Kildare and Dublin last May. Christopher Prentice, of Tallaght, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to unlawfully using a stolen vehicle and three counts of dangerous driving. The court heard that gardaí observed Prentice driving a jeep reported stolen on the Naas Road and pursued him as he drove at speeds exceeding 180 kilometres per hour, broke red lights, crossed lanes, and forced oncoming traffic to swerve. The chase ended when Prentice lost control, mounted a kerb, and came to a stop on Raphoe Road. Judge Melanie Greally described it as miraculous that no injuries or damage occurred. Prentice was also disqualified from driving for five years. He has thirty-three previous convictions. The sentence was backdated to May.
Paschal Kelly, aged 53, of Cootehill, County Cavan, has been convicted at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of false imprisonment, robbery, and threatening to kill three women during a tiger kidnapping in September 2014. The convictions relate to the abduction of postmistress Susan Lawlor, her daughter Emma Carter, and an Italian student from their Malahide home, followed by a €92,000 robbery at Bayside Post Office in Sutton. Kelly was also found guilty of possessing a stolen vehicle. He had pleaded not guilty to all charges. The trial extended to nine weeks. DNA evidence recovered from items at the scene linked Kelly to the offence. The court heard of his sixty previous convictions, including assault, robbery, and road traffic offences. Sentencing has been adjourned to the following week, with Kelly remanded in custody. The three women's victim impact statements were submitted but their contents were not disclosed in court at their request.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, Jeanette Murray, a 44‑year‑old senior accountant at Brooks Hotel, pleaded guilty to 12 sample theft charges covering September 2003 to November 2008. Over five years she stole more than €200,000, comprising €137,200 in cash and €67,600 in cheques and bank drafts. She spent the cash on personal items and did not lodge the cheques, which were later returned to the hotel. Murray deleted and falsified hotel system records and supplied incorrect audit reports each year to conceal the thefts. The case was brought to court after irregularities were noted in 2009 while Murray was on maternity leave. Judge Melanie Greally remanded her on continuing bail until next May, ordered a Probation Service report on her family situation, and kept all sentencing options open, including a community service assessment.
Michael Connors, aged 25, was sentenced by the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after pleading guilty to escaping custody twice in 2017 and 2018. He also admitted unlawfully possessing two stolen cars in April 2018 and was charged with producing a hammer and possessing stolen property. Gardaí found stolen car keys and an RF radio signal jammer at his home. Judge Melanie Greally suspended the last year of a five‑year sentence and disqualified him from driving for six years. Connors had previously escaped custody while being treated for a bitten ear at Tallaght Hospital, slipping his handcuffs and fleeing. He had 38 prior convictions, including burglary, knife possession, endangerment and escaping lawful custody. The court heard he had a troubled background, early school leaving, drug use, and had undergone psychiatric treatment. The judge noted his apology and desire to change.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, Tony Carrick, aged 41, received a partially suspended sentence for robbing Aoife O'Reilly at a Finglas petrol station. Carrick demanded the time, seized her wallet, and fled in a car. O'Reilly chased him, ending half inside and half outside the vehicle. The driver shouted threats and punched her, while Carrick threatened to kill her if she left. The driver drove 200 yards with O'Reilly's legs dangling, then forced her out and left. Carrick, already serving a five‑and‑a‑half‑year term for burglaries and an attempted car‑jacking, pleaded guilty to robbery and endangerment on 13 December 2016. Judge Karen O'Connor added the new sentence to run consecutively, bringing his total to eight years, with the final two‑and‑a‑half years suspended. The driver involved in both incidents is now deceased. Carrick's 110 prior convictions include assault, burglary, robbery and unlawful possession of ammunition.
Michael Connors, aged 25, was sentenced later this month for escaping custody at Tallaght Hospital on 10 November 2017 after a fellow inmate bit him on the ear, and for escaping custody at Tallaght Garda Station on 20 April 2018. He also pleaded guilty to unlawfully possessing two stolen cars on 19 and 27 April last year, and to four counts of producing a hammer and possessing stolen property. Gardaí found stolen car keys and an RF radio signal jammer at his home. Connors had 38 previous convictions, including 13 for burglary, and had a history of drug use and self‑harm. He apologized to the court and expressed a desire to turn his life around and work as a gardener. The case was adjourned for sentencing next Tuesday.