Drug addict given six-and-a-half-year jail sentence

A chronic alcoholic and drug addict has been given a consecutive six-and-a-half years sentence to start at the end of a recently imposed two years term.

Anthony 'Harpo' O Driscoll (30) of Croftwood Park, Ballyfermot said he was "going through a bad patch with the drink" at the time of the new offences and apologised to the "victims."

O'Driscoll pleaded guilty to what Judge Tony Hunt in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court described as a "litany of offences", including drug dealing, attempted burglary, unlawful carriage, property damage and seriously assaulting a man with three others including his brother Derek "Dee Dee" O'Driscoll.

Gardaí observed O'Driscoll and the others kicking and punching Mr Eddie Brennan outside the James Inn Pub on March 16, 2005. The men bundled Mr Brennan into a nearby jeep before the gardai could intervene.

Garda Emma O'Sullivan said she observed O'Driscoll turn around and punch Mr Brennan several times while gardaí were in pursuit of the jeep. Gardaí surrounded the occupants at Lally Road and Mr Brennan fell to the ground with a bloodied nose.

Gda O'Sullivan said a search of the jeep yielded cable ties, a hockey stick, a bamboo stick with brass ends, a baseball bat, a rod and sticks.

Garda Gavin Ryan told prosecuting counsel, Mr Ronan Kennedy BL, that he repremanded O'Driscoll interfering with a motor bike in Croftwood Green, Dublin 10 on March 23, 2006.

Gda Ryan said O'Driscoll tried to stab him in the neck on arrest with a sharp "ice-pick type weapon".

He said O'Driscoll continued to be threatening and abusive toward arresting gardai on the way to the station and during custody.

He agreed with defence counsel, Mr Luigi Rea BL, that O'Driscoll was "very drunk" at the time and didn't intend to use the ice-pick as a weapon but had it to interfere with the motor bike.

Garda Gary Byrnes told Mr Kennedy that O'Driscoll went on a spate of house burglaries with a minor on April 29, 2006.

He said O'Driscoll and the then 14-year-old were caught trying to break into three houses by their respective occupants in the Goatstown and Ballinteer areas of Dublin.

Gda Byrnes agreed with Mr Rea that both were under the influence of alcohol which might explain "the poor results following a lot of effort at a number of premises."

Garda George Doherty told Mr Kennedy that O'Driscoll was a passenger in a silver Saab car stolen from a premises at Ballydowd, Lucan on April 04, 2007.

O'Driscoll was also caught selling heroin to undercover gardai on two dates in May, 2006.

O'Driscoll asked the judge if he could be placed in the Midlands Jail for his detention because he thought there wouldn't be "as much drugs" available to him.

Judge Hunt said he would "make the strongest possible recommendations" and suspended the last two years of the sentence.