Ex-GAA star garda’s career ruined by theft of €450 in ATM scam

A disgraced garda and former GAA star has been fined €2,000 but was spared jail for defrauding a bank out of €450 in an ATM scam.

Garda Brendan Phillips, 35, an ex-Sligo inter-county footballer, who had been based in Blanchardstown in Dublin, is facing the sack after he pleaded guilty yesterday to three deception charges and two counts of attempted deception.

Judge Bryan Smyth heard at Dublin District Court that Phillips is now regarded as a “pariah” as a result of the €450 fraud which will cost him is career in An Garda Síochána. He was prosecuted in connection with withdrawals from AIB bank machines in Dublin in March and April 2013.