Declan Brennan

 

Woman raped by partner after 'toxic relationship' lasting 18 years

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Published 29/7/2022, in Central Criminal Court

A Cork woman has described being left in terror after her ex-partner raped her after threatening to cut her fingers off with a garden secateurs.

At the man’s sentence hearing at the Central Criminal Court today, the woman described how she had stayed in a “toxic relationship” for 18 years for the sake of her children, who she loves dearly.

The couple separated in 2019 but remained living together with their children. On the evening August 2, 2019 the woman had come home from work when the man showed her the secateurs, grabbed her hand and told her that he would cut ….read more

Victim speaks after coercive control rapist who targeted women through dating sites gets 17 years

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Published 28/7/2022, in Central Criminal Court

(Victim Ms Sinéad O’Neill. Photo: Collins)

A violent offender who targeted women through online dating sites and who raped, assaulted and coercively controlled a woman over the course of a six-week relationship has been jailed for 17 years.

Shortly after Dean Ward (36) and Sinéad O’Neill met on an online dating site in May 2019, Ward effectively moved himself into the woman’s home in Killybegs, Co Donegal. He used lies and emotional manipulation to insinuate himself into her life, Mr Justice Kerida Naidoo said today.

During the next six weeks Ward repeatedly attacked Ms O’Neill, spraying mace into her face, tying her up, ….read more

Ex-courier conned mobile shops using old uniform

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Published 28/7/2022, in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court

A former courier who lost his job due to his cocaine habit later used his courier credentials and uniform to trick mobile phone shops into handing over mobile phones for delivery, a court has heard.

Dublin man John Rock (42) was wearing his old Nightline courier’s uniform when he showed up at a number of mobile phones outlets and showed staff his old Nightline staff identity card.

He would tell staff he was there to collect phones which were booked in for repair. He stole over €5,000 worth of mobile phones which he told gardai he sold on immediately in order to ….read more

Drugs enforcer gets six years for home invasion

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Published 28/7/2022, in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court

An electrician whose ‘life unravelled’ and who invaded a family home armed with a wheel brace in order to work off a drug debt has been jailed for six years.

Judge Melanie Greally said that David Hogan (31) was acting “as an enforcer and a general dogs body” for persons further up the drug dealing hierarchy.

On March 22, 2021 Hogan and another man went to a family home at The Gallops, Leopardstown and pushed their way inside. Hogan was armed with a wheel brace and was shouting at the homeowners that their son “had his stuff” and “they’re going to kill ….read more

Hotel porter jailed for rape of colleague

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Published 28/7/2022, in Central Criminal Court

A hotel porter has been jailed for five and a half years for the oral rape and sexual assault of a colleague at the end of a staff night out.

Alexander Udrea (33) of Lennox Street, Portobello, Dublin was convicted last March after a trial at the Central Criminal Court of sexual assaulting the woman a number of times at her then home in the city on January 6, 2019.

Udrea and the woman had been out at a staff Christmas party and had left a nightclub together. They got a taxi to go back to her home and there was some ….read more

Imitation gun pointed at customer's face during armed raid

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Published 26/7/2022, in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court

Two armed raiders have been jailed for five years for the attempted robbery of a post office, during which a customer had an imitation gun pointed at her face.

Dublin men Paul Clarke (40) and Patrick Byrne (37) were caught during the hold-up of the post office in Baldoyle, Co Dublin last October when armed gardaí from the Emergency Response Unit arrived six minutes after the raid began.

Lawyers for the two men told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that both men had recently relapsed into drug use and the raid was a desperate attempt to fund their drug addictions. Both have been ….read more

'Evil' paedophile priest Tony Walsh sentenced to another four years for abusing schoolboys

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Published 21/7/2022, in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court

(Pictured: Tony Walsh. Photo: Collins)

Notorious paedophile and former “singing priest” Tony Walsh has been sentenced to another four years in prison for the abuse of schoolboys in the 1980s.

Judge Martin Nolan described the crimes of Tony Walsh (72), who was defrocked in 1992 and formally dismissed from the priesthood in 1996, as “evil”.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard today that Walsh (72) was a curate in Ballyfermot, Dublin and a chaplain to De La Salle school in Ballyfermot from 1978 to 1986 when he abused the boys.

Judge Martin Nolan said that Walsh has spent around 20 years in prison since 1995 ….read more

Mid-to-high level member of large scale drugs operation is jailed

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Published 19/7/2022, in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court

A mid-to-high level member of a large scale drugs operation has been jailed for six and a half years.

Judge Martin Nolan noted today that Patrick Bell (55) was probably higher up the food chain than most people who came before the court.

Bell, of Thomas Court Bawn, Dublin 8 was caught in September 2019 in possession of heroin with an estimated street value of €136,640, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard today.

Garda James Doolan told Gerardine Small BL, prosecuting, that in the days before Bell’s arrest, gardai had set up a surveillance operation around a garage.

On September 24, 2019, Bell was seen ….read more

Victim raped '50 times a year' by serial child abuser

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Published 18/7/2022, in Central Criminal Court

A serial child abuser subjected his younger cousin to relentless and constant sexual abuse for four years, raping him as much as 50 times per year, a court has heard.

The 61-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his victim, was convicted after a trial at the Central Criminal Court last May of seven counts of rape and six counts of indecent assault at his flat in Dublin city in the nineties.

The boy was aged ten when the abuse began in 1991. The attacks involved oral and anal rapes and continued until 1997 when the victim told ….read more

Rugby player built up debt by using cannabis to manage pain

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Published 11/7/2022, in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court

A student rugby player who built up a drug debt from using cannabis to manage pain from an injury has avoided jail for moving €10k worth of the drug.

Darragh Kelly (23) of Sarto Lawns, Sutton, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to unlawful possession for sale or supply of cannabis at James Larkin Road, Raheny, Dublin 17 on April 7, 2020.

Kelly was caught by gardai with two bags of cannabis with an estimated street value of €9,804.

Defending counsel, Keith Spencer BL, told the court that Kelly had built up a drug debt of €4,000 by using cannabis ….read more

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