Cork man convicted of multiple offences 'was drunk on every occasion'

The accused man's solicitor said Cronin was 'obviously a drug addict and alcoholic'

The court heard that the defendant's life was chaotic and he 'was drunk on every occasion' he committed an offence, and his 'only hope is residential treatment'. File picture: Dan Linehan

A Cork man who pleaded guilty to five offences in the district court was “drunk on every occasion” according to his solicitor.

Sergeant Trish O’Sullivan told Macroom District Court that Gavin Cronin, aged 36 of Dromdubh, Macroom, Co. Cork, was charged with two counts of criminal damage, one count of theft, one count of possession of drugs and one count of producing an article.

The court heard that on March 1, 2025, a warrant was obtained to search Cronin’s home and when the search was carried out cocaine with a value of approximately €100 was recovered from the property.

On July 28, 2025, Cronin went into SuperValu in Macroom and took four bottles of wine valued at €40. He left the store with the wine without paying for it and was recorded doing so on CCTV. The wine was not recovered.

On August 2, 2025, gardaí received a call at 6pm from Cronin’s parents that he had arrived at their house where he was not welcome. The court heard Cronin was in a highly intoxicated state and was shouting abuse at his parents from the front garden. 

He then went to the back of the house and smashed a kitchen window. Cronin then went to the garden shed and retrieved a pike and gestured at them with it in a threatening manner.

On September 28, 2025, a man parked his car in the carpark of the Castle Hotel in Macroom at 5.30pm. He returned to the car at 11.50pm and found that a window had been smashed and a red traffic cone was on the ground next to the broken window.

Upon investigation, Cronin was identified by CCTV as the culprit and the damage cost €500 to repair.

The court was told that Cronin had suspended sentences from the district and circuit court and also had 60 previous convictions.

Defence solicitor, Patrick Goold, said Cronin was “obviously a drug addict and alcoholic”. He said Cronin had been in treatment for many years but it “hasn’t been successful”. 

He said Cronin’s life was chaotic and he “was drunk on every occasion” he committed an offence. He said Cronin’s “only hope is residential treatment”. 

Judge Joanne Carroll noted Cronin’s guilty pleas and the fact that he had been in custody since October 15. For the criminal damage at his parent's house he was convicted and sentenced to four months in prison. 

The possession of an article charge was taken into consideration. For possession of cocaine he was placed on a probation bond for 18 months on condition he attends addiction treatment.

For the criminal damage at the hotel carpark he was convicted and sentenced to four months in prison suspended for 18 months on condition he pays the injured party €500 in compensation. The theft charge was taken into consideration and the sentence was backdated to commence on October 15.

Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme