Woman turns her life around since dealing drugs from her flat in West Cork town

Just before her arrest, the accused had already taken steps to undertake a residential treatment for her own drug addiction problem

Judge Helen Boyle imposed a two-year suspended sentence on her at Cork Circuit Criminal Court. File picture: Larry Cummins

A top floor flat in Skibbereen was the location for a woman’s drug-dealing operation but since the gardaí raided the premises in 2022 she has turned her life around and now she has been given the benefit of a suspended two-year sentence.

Detective Garda Shannon Ryan said the divisional drugs unit in the area obtained a warrant to search the top floor flat at 50 North Street, Skibbereen, County Cork, on September 24, 2022.

There they found small quantities of LSD, ecstasy and cannabis. More significantly, they found a €5,400 stash of cocaine.

30-year-old Aisling Ring who was living at that location at the time was arrested by arrangement with An Garda Síochána soon after the raid.

Det. Garda Ryan said that in the time between the raid and the formal arrest of the accused she had already taken steps to undertake a residential treatment for her own drug addiction problem.

She also admitted that she was dealing cocaine at the time.

Defence barrister Andrea Gilligan said this offence was committed at a time when Ms Ring was in the throes of addiction. She had since spent six months in residential treatment in the Coolmine centre in Limerick.

“She started drinking alcohol at the age of 12 and fell into hard drugs during covid,” Ms Gilligan said.

The defence barrister submitted that Aisling Ring had changed her life completely and the report on her rehabilitation referred to her remarkable strength resilience.

Judge Helen Boyle imposed a two-year suspended sentence on her at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.