Man jailed for stealing and vandalising property belonging to Cork Opera House panto

The judge said that as well as the general nastiness of the offences there was a wilful destruction of property

The Cinderella pantomime at Cork Opera House in 2024 which had a laptop, a motorised skateboard, four walkie-talkies, a trampoline, 20 children’s hoodies, and €170 in cash stolen from it. File picture: Shane Horan

The Cork Opera House Cinderella panto production team had to contend with the frustration of having their rehearsal space burgled and some of their props, equipment and costumes stolen or vandalised in an incident in 2024 and now one of those involved has been jailed for two years and nine months.

Judge Sinéad Behan imposed that total sentence on 35-year-old Gary Sheehan of Hazel Road, Togher, Cork, for this burglary and for another crime at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

The judge commented that as well as the general nastiness of the offences there was a wilful destruction of property. Mitigating factors included his co-operation, the signed plea of guilty, a very favourable prison governor’s report and evidence that he is substance-free.

The sentence followed an investigation at the Lough Community Centre where three people hid inside when it was being locked up and caused extensive damage in the early hours of the morning.

Detective Garda Carol Ann O’Callaghan said: “On November 11, 2024, at 9.30pm two men and a woman entered the Lough Community Centre and remained in the building after it was locked by the caretaker.

“While inside, damage was caused to interior doors to an approximate value of €3,500 and various items were taken including electronic equipment and cash to the approximate value of €2,500. They left the premises at 5.05am via the front door. 

"The entire incident was captured on CCTV which was of excellent quality.” 

Inside the premises, internal doors were damaged and access was gained to a doctor’s surgery and to a rehearsal space being used at that time for the team producing the panto at Cork Opera House.

Items which the production team reported as stolen included a laptop, a motorised skateboard, four walkie-talkies, a trampoline and 20 children’s hoodies, together with €170 in cash. Also discovered was that shoes to be used in the show had been destroyed with spray paint.

Other crime

In an unrelated crime on February 10 this year, Garda Niall McGrath said Gary Sheehan was involved in stealing a Dacia Duster car from the drive outside a house at Wilton Court in Cork. 

Thanks to a GPS tracker fitted to the vehicle it was possible to locate it at Doughcloyne industrial estate a short time later. Gardaí arrested and interviewed him and he made admissions.

Cameras in boxes that were contained in the car were removed by the accused and taken into his own home. These were later retrieved with the co-operation of the accused man and were returned to the owner undamaged.

Gary Sheehan had 198 previous convictions including 19 for theft and three for stealing vehicles.

Defence barrister Jessica Kelleher said in relation to his approach to his drug addictions: “He is clean and well, he has gone cold turkey, he is attending the gym and attending classes in prison. He is looking well now and does want to meaningfully address his addiction difficulties."