Former jockey who had €400-a-day cocaine habit jailed over €553,000 drugs seizures

James O’Neill was trying to pay off a €100,000 drugs debt by transporting drugs in the hope of reducing it by €1,000 each time 

James O’Neill has been sentenced to six and a half years with the last two years suspended. File picture

A 38-year-old former jockey with a cocaine addiction costing him €300 to €400 per day ended up with a drugs debt of over €100,000 which he was trying to pay off by transporting drugs in the hope of reducing his debt by €1,000 each time.

However, James O’Neill ended up being caught at the height of these problems with drugs totalling €553,000 and now he has been sentenced to six and a half years with the last two years suspended by Judge Sinéad Behan.

Defence barrister, Nikki O’Sullivan, said at Cork Circuit Criminal Court that James O’Neill of Routagh, Ballysheedy, County Limerick, was addicted to cocaine at the time but had since gone into a treatment programme at Cuan Mhuire.

Garda Conor O’Halloran testified that the defendant had no previous drug convictions and had not come to the attention of gardaí since this occurred two years ago.

Ms O’Sullivan said he is a former jockey who was in an accident which effectively put a halt to his career.

Two cannabis seizures on the same day in North Cork and Limerick with a combined street value of more than €553,000 resulted in pleas of guilty being entered by the accused man. The two seizures both relate to February 23, 2024. 

The first charge stated that on that date at Kilknockan, Mallow, County Cork, James O’Neill had in his possession a controlled drug, namely cannabis, for the purpose of selling it or otherwise supplying it to another at a time when the drugs in his possession had a market value in excess of €13,000. 

This is the threshold figure under the Misuse of Drugs Act which allows for a minimum sentence of 10 years unless there are exceptional circumstances. The actual value of the cannabis at that location was €299,180.

The second charge was one of having cannabis for sale or supply on the same date at Routagh, Ballysheedy, County Limerick. The street value of the drugs at that location was put at €254,000. The 38-year-old defendant’s home address was the location for the second drugs seizure.