‘Devout’ solicitor jailed for €2.8m theft

A struck-off solicitor described as a "devout Christian" has been jailed for three years for stealing €2.8m from former client accounts to fund investment properties and buy on the stock market.

Judge Mary Ellen Ring said that Ruairí Ó Ceallaigh, aged 42, used the money for the “ultimate in gambling” and had “gambled on the gamble”.

Ó Ceallaigh, of Collegeland, Summerhill, Co Meath, pleaded guilty to seven counts of dishonestly appropriating a total of €2,816,566, the property of Sean Ó Ceallaigh & Co, and having designated these sums as credited to seven named clients’ accounts on dates between July 2006 and May 2010.