Kinsale woman jailed for 'consciously, knowingly and deliberately selling drugs'

When gardaí called to Qui McGill's house, they found €2,700 worth of cannabis on her person and more than €7,000 worth of the drug hidden out the back in a barbecue, Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard. File picture

A Kinsale woman was jailed for 18 months for what the judge described as conscious, knowing and deliberate drug-dealing.

Qui McGill, 34, of Market Place, Kinsale, Co Cork, was sentenced for having cannabis for sale or supply on September 26, 2020, at Higher O’Connell St, Kinsale.

It was clarified at the adjourned hearing that while her urinalysis report had carried the words “Sample dilute – proceed with caution”, the urinalysis itself was negative, showing she was clear of drugs.

Sinead Behan defence barrister, raised this issue as soon as the case was called and the prosecution accepted the urinalysis was negative.

Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin also accepted that but said the issue around the urinalysis was “only a minor consideration – it is but a tangential point”. He said that of far greater concern was that she used a house to which she had access as a place to store drugs for onward supply, and that she had a previous conviction for doing likewise at her own home.

“This girl was consciously, knowingly and deliberately selling drugs in Kinsale. I cannot ignore that. In view of the previous conviction and the nature of this case I will impose a sentence of three years, 18 months of which I will suspend,” Judge Ó Donnabháin said at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

Detective Garda Colin O’Mahony said members of the Cork West divisional drugs unit observed the defendant go to a house on O’Connell Street, to which she had access as part of her cleaning work, and she removed a package and brought it to Honeycomb Lodge where she was residing.

When gardaí called, she had €2,700 worth of cannabis on her person and more than €7,000 worth of the drug hidden out the back in a barbecue.

“She did not cooperate. She made certain admissions about drugs on her person but would not comment about drugs in the house,” Det Gda O’Mahony said.