Striking disparity in jail sentences between Cork City’s northside and southside

New Irish Examiner analysis reveals significant sentencing disparities between Cork’s northside and southside, raising questions over justice and inequality

The average sentence for a person with a northside address between 2020-2024 was just over 22 months, but it was 18 months on the southside of Cork City. File picture: Dan Linehan

People with an address on the northside of Cork City receive longer prison sentences on average than those from the southside, research from the Irish Examiner suggests.

The analysis of more than 1,400 court reports published by The Irish Examiner and The Echo highlights a striking disparity between the city’s northside and southside.

It raises fresh concerns about the ongoing inequality and the socioeconomic divide, despite decades of investment in disadvantaged areas.

This is one of the articles published in the 'Irish Examiner' in print and online here on Day 2 of the three-day Cork Crime series. 

The breakdown of the 554 convictions between 2020-2024, shows:

• 360 had an address on the northside and 194 lived on the southside
• The average jail sentence was longer on the northside (22.1 months) compared to 18 months on the southside
• Some of the city’s youngest offenders had an address on the northside;
• Gurranabraher had the youngest average age of those jailed during the study period 

The breakdown of the main crime categories shows an even greater disparity when it comes to sentencing. 

The data shows:

Theft

127 jail terms in which theft was mentioned were imposed on people with an address on the northside. Average sentence – 11.8 months. 

65 mentions of the same offence involving people with an address on the southside. Average sentence 8.7 months.

Burglary

54 jail sentences mentioning burglary involving someone with a northside address. Average jail term of 32 months. 

12 mentions of the same offence involving someone living on the southside. Average sentence of 25 months.

Public order

53 jail sentences mentioning public order offences involving people with a northside address. Average sentence of 9.5 months.

31 sentences for the same offence involving someone living on the southside. Average sentence of 5.5 months.

Weapons and explosives offences

48 jail terms in which weapons and explosives offences were mentioned, involving someone with a northside address. Average sentence of 29.3 months. 

23 involving someone living on the southside. Average sentence of 27 months.

Drugs for sale or supply

45 jail terms mentioning drugs for sale or supply involving some living on the northside, with an average sentence of 40.7 months. 

23 mentions of the same offence involving someone with a southside address - average sentence of 29 months.

Assault 

63 jail terms involving a person with a northside address. Average jail term of 26.2 months. 

42 mentions of the same offence involving a person living on the southside. Average jail term of 27.6 months.

This was the only major crime category where sentences were harsher on the southside.

Of the top 10 jail-time suburbs, seven are in parts of the city classed as ‘disadvantaged’ or ‘very disadvantaged’ in the 2022 Pobal Deprivation Index, with higher rates of unemployment and lone parenting, and lower rates of school completion and third-level participation.

The average age of a person with a northside address at the time of sentencing was just under 33 years of age, with southsiders just over the age of 34.

The average sentence for a person with a northside address in that time was just over 22 months, but it was 18 months on the southside.

Previous convictions were mentioned almost equally across the city – in 65% of all the cases involving someone with a northside address and in 63% of cases involving someone with a southside address.

Addiction

However, the data shows that addiction does not respect any geographical boundaries and is a citywide problem.

Addiction was mentioned in 54% of cases involving northsiders, and in 52% of cases involving southsiders, with alcohol mentioned in 37% of cases both northside and southside, and drugs mentioned in 45% of cases both northside and southside.

Addiction, alcohol or drugs was mentioned in 72% of cases on the northside, and 74% of all cases in the southside.

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The analysis also identified the most mentioned crime categories and the areas in which those convicted of the crimes were living at the time.

It shows that Gurranabraher accounted for the highest number of jail terms imposed over the five years, and it had the youngest average age in the city for someone jailed for an offence, at just under 29 years of age. 

It was followed by Mayfield, Knocknaheeny, and Blackpool, all on the northside, and by Mahon in the southeast.