'Career burglar' on temporary release strikes again

A "career burglar" who tried to break into the home of an elderly charity worker while he was on temporary release from prison has been given a three year sentence at Dublin Circuit criminal Court.

John McDonagh (aged 26) tried to gain access to the woman's home in the early hours of the morning through a back window but when an alarm activated he posed as a neighbour to try to get her to open the front door.

McDonagh, of Nutgrove Crescent, Rathfarnham, pleaded guilty to attempted burglary on May 30, 2007 while on temporary release from a two year prison sentence for burglary. He has 26 previous convictions.

Judge Patrick McCartan commended "the remarkable courage" of the 81-year-old woman in confronting McDonagh at the front door.

Judge McCartan noted a probation report described McDonagh as a "career burglar" and said the courts had a duty to "protect the public" by keeping McDonagh in custody where he could continue with his rehabilitation and gain some insight into his offending.

Judge McCartan imposed a three year sentence with the final year suspended on strict conditions.

Garda Austin Larkin told Ms Martina Baxter BL, prosecuting, that the woman was woken at 2am by noises from the back window of her home and pressed a panic button which activated an external alarm.

She then heard the door bell ringing and a voice told her it was "next door". She asked for her next door neighbour by name and the voice replied "yes."

Gda Larkin said she looked through the letter box and out a window and saw a person wearing a tracksuit but did not open the door and waited for gardaí to arrive.

Gda Larkin said when he arrived at the scene his colleague went inside to speak to the woman and he remained outside to speak to McDonagh whom he had observed standing beside a nearby tree in a tracksuit.

McDonagh became anxious to leave the area and became aggressive, waving his arms in the air. He was found to be in possession of a screwdriver with paint flakes on it and was arrested.

Defence counsel, Mr John Byrne BL, said McDonagh was currently in custody serving a reactivated burglary sentence and was due for release this October. He was using the time in custody productively to address his heroin addiction and improve his prospects for his release.

Mr Byrne said McDonagh had an unsettled childhood. His parents separated while he was young and he begun smoking heroin when he was aged 15 or 16.

Mr Byrne added that McDonagh's addiction was at its height around the time of this offence. He had recently married and his partner had issued an ultimatum that he sort himself out.