Couple who hid Russborough paintings jailed

A couple, who hid oil paintings worth over €18m stolen from Russborough House in the attic of their Clondalkin home, have been jailed, one for six months and one for a year.

Thomas (48) and Noleen (46) Douglas, from Deansrath Road, who recently celebrated their silver jubilee wedding anniversary, had pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to handling stolen property on December 20, 2002.

Judge Desmond Hogan, who described them as "small but important cogs" in a crime carried out by organised and efficient criminals, imposed a three year sentence on each, but suspended the last two and a half years of Noleen's sentence and the last two years of her husband's sentence.

The couple, who have two children aged 24 and 19, had no previous convictions, and had agreed to hide the stolen paintings when Thomas Douglas was approached to do so by people described in court as "not the type of individuals that you said no to."

Detective Sergeant George Coyne said he accepted the Douglases had nothing to do with the heist itself, which was carried out by armed and masked men on September 29, 2002 at the well-known stately home in Blessington, Co Wicklow.

Det Sgt Coyne told Mr Paul Greene BL, prosecuting, that a gang of masked and armed men entered the building from the rear after driving a jeep up the back steps and ramming the doorway with a special apparatus attached to vehicle.

They removed five paintings, including two by Rubens. Sgt Coyne said their total value is estimated at €18.5m, although they would fetch more if sold on the open market.

Three months after the heist at Russborough, gardaí received confidential information that led them to search the Douglas' home. Mrs Douglas let them in and her husband arrived home from a work party, slightly inebriated, during their search

The paintings were found in the attic and both were arrested They accepted full responsibility for the stolen property and revealed how they came into their possession.

Det Sgt Coyne said Mrs Douglas and the couple's son James, who both worked for Musgrave's Cash and Carry, lost their jobs after the incident.

Her husband, who worked for Dublin Corporation for a number of years and then for a security company, had recently lost his job as a result of handling the stolen paintings.

Mr George Birmingham SC and Mr Michael O'Higgins SC, defending, both said it was not often the court dealt with people celebrating their silver wedding anniversary.

They had always lived in Clondalkin, and a powerful endorsement of their standing in that community was the fact that over 130 of their neighbours had signed a petition in support of them.

Judge Hogan partially suspended their sentences after taking into account their previous good character, their early pleas of guilty, and their co-operation with gardaí.

He noted that the couple's neighbours had organised a petition on their behalf, showing the high regard with which they were held in the community. He also noted they had already suffered a loss of their good name as well as their jobs as a result of their involvement in the crime.