'We're not here for your son, we want the money', raiders dressed as gardaí told 'traumatised' family

A Dublin man who raided a family home with two accomplices while dressed as gardaí has been sentenced to seven years with the final 18 months suspended.

By Sonya McLean

A Dublin man who raided a family home with two accomplices while the trio were dressed as gardaí has been sentenced to seven years with the final 18 months suspended.

Matthew Fahy (40) and the other two men initially told the homeowner that they were there to search the house but when the injured party asked for identification, an imitation handgun was produced.

Garda Mark Quill said the man, his wife and their seven-year-old son were living in the house at the time, along with his brother, the brother's partner and a lodger.

The handgun was pointed at the homeowner and all the other occupants were instructed to gather together in the sitting room before demands were made for cash.

The man managed to escape out the back door and hop a back wall to get assistance but Gda Quill said the victim's young son followed him. The man was not aware his child had gone running out after him and Fahy shepherded the child back into the house.

Fahy, of Owensilla, Ballymun, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to aggravated burglary and possession of an imitation firearm at the house in Castleknock on November 28, 2017.

He has 130 previous convictions for burglary, theft, road traffic offences, criminal damage, possession of drugs, taking vehicles and public order matters.

Gda Quill told Karl Finnegan BL, prosecuting, during an earlier hearing last week, that Fahy followed the child out, caught him and forced him back into the house.

Damien Colgan SC, defending, said his client disputed that he “manhandled the boy” and asked for the case to be adjourned so that the court could be shown CCTV footage of the burglary.

The court was shown that footage today after which Gda Quill agreed that Fahy “seems to put his arm around the boy and guide him back in through the door”.

He accepted that gardaí put it to Fahy in interview that he had been compassionate towards the child.

Today, Judge Melanie Greally said it was a premeditated offence involving the offenders presenting themselves as gardaí, with one armed with an imitation firearm. She said the family had been traumatised in their own home.

She said there had been no gratuitous violence and that there had been some display of humanity and concern in relation to the child.

Judge Greally said she took into account Fahy's plea of guilty, co-operation and history of drug addiction. She also noted his difficult upbringing and the efforts he had been making to rehabilitate.

She imposed a seven-year sentence with final 18 months suspended and ordered that the sentence run consecutive to a District Court term Fahy is already serving.

Gda Quill told Mr Finnegan that the man's brother had a gun pointed at his legs and abdomen a number of times.

He said the child's mother told the raiders to leave the boy alone but she was informed “we are not here for your son, we want the money”. Gda Quill agreed that the burglary lasted two minutes and nobody was injured.

The house had its own CCTV cameras and Fahy was nominated as a suspect after gardaí viewed the footage. No other person has been arrested in connection with the burglary.

The people in the house didn't make any victim impact statements but Gda Quill told the court that they “are still traumatised to a certain extent”.

Gda Quill agreed with Mr Colgan that although Fahy was not at home when gardaí arrived to arrest him, he turned up at the garda station later and agreed to stand in an identity parade. He accepted that his plea of guilty was a relief to the family as they didn't have to give evidence during a trial. He had written a letter of apology to the court.

Mr Colgan said his client's mother left home when he was five years old and his father was “in trouble with the law bringing chaos to the home” he shared with his brother and sister.

“He had no stability in his childhood,” counsel said before he added that Fahy's partner of 20 years died last year. He said his client found himself homeless and relapsed back into drug addiction.

Mr Colgan said Fahy was trying to rehabilitate himself while in prison by addressing his addiction and attending classes.