A serial offender with an “appalling” 137 previous convictions has been given a fully suspended sentence for a series of theft and public order offences, after a judge said he was “impressed” with her efforts to deal with her addiction problems.
Judge Derek Cooney noted that the behaviour of defendant Margaret Connors (41) seems to worsen when she visits “old pals” in Dublin city centre and asked her to consider: “Where are your pals now?”
Connors, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty at Tallaght District Court to theft, handling stolen property and public order offences.
Garda Sergeant Michael Martin told Judge Cooney that Connors stole alcohol and groceries worth €20.85 from Tesco in Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 on April 27, last. She was also found in possession of stolen property, including cosmetics, perfume, bracelets and a mobile phone.
Connors also admitted stealing liquor and a tent worth €111.81 from Aldi in Terenure on March 22 last.
The court heard she was also intoxicated in a public place and engaged in threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour at The Heights in Citywest on December 1, 2025.
The court heard Connors has 137 previous convictions.
Connors accepted responsibility for her actions, telling the court: “I hold my hands up – all I can say is I’m sorry.”
She said her life had deteriorated in recent years, adding: “Things spiralled out of control and I want to get these charges over with”.
Connors told the court that she hoped to enter addiction treatment in the coming weeks and wanted to do her best in recovery.
Defending barrister, Ciara Ní Ghabhann BL, said her client had been using heroin since she was 17 and had spent many years battling addiction.
Counsel said Connors had engaged with a methadone programme but had relapsed. She said her client had lived a “chaotic” lifestyle for a number of years, had been homeless and had struggled to maintain contact with solicitors because she was often uncontactable.
Counsel added that Connors was awaiting a residential treatment placement.
Judge Cooney said Connors had an “appalling” criminal record and noted that whatever changes she made in the future, her convictions would continue to follow her.
However, he said the court also had to consider her personal circumstances, describing her past as “chaotic, to say the least”. He referred to her difficult background, addiction, homelessness and personal difficulties, saying these were factors the court could not ignore.
The judge said that while the thefts were relatively minor in value, repeated shoplifting offences became more serious as they accumulated.
Addressing Connors directly, he said: “You can’t keep on doing this, Ms Connors”.
Judge Cooney said Connors appeared to stay out of trouble when away from Dublin but repeatedly found herself before the courts after returning to familiar surroundings.
“You seem to do okay outside of Dublin, but once you go back to the city centre and meet up with your old pals, you get into trouble,” he said.
He then asked: “Where are your pals now, Ms Connors?”
In relation to the Section 4 theft offence at Aldi in Terenure, Judge Cooney imposed a six-month prison sentence. He imposed a further consecutive six-month sentence on the Section 18 handling stolen property charge, bringing the total sentence to 12 months.
Before announcing whether the sentence would take immediate effect, he told Connors: “I’m going to help you”.
The judge said it would have been easy to leave matters there, but noted Connors appeared to be making an effort to address her addiction.
“I’m sort of impressed with your effort to deal with your addictions Ms Connors”, he said, adding: “So I will suspend both sentences for 12 months.”
The judge said Connors’ recovery would ultimately depend on her own commitment.
“Whether you stick with it or not is another thing.”
“You’re not getting any younger and it’s going to get even more difficult.”
Judge Cooney warned Connors that there would be serious consequences if she reoffended: “It doesn’t matter what you do”, he said, “if you come before the courts again, you’ll probably get a whack of a sentence the next time”.