This article is from page 16 of the 2011-10-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 16 JPG
A 20-YEAR-OLD’s chronic alcohol problem and misuse of cannabis are at the root of his bad record, a court has been told.
The comments from a barrister came in the case of a defendant who pleaded guilty to burglary last year.
Ian Murrihy (20), of Lisdoonvarna Road, Kilfenora, was charged with burglary of a house in Ardnaculla, Ennistymon, on June 25, 2010. A mobile phone was stolen during the break-in.
Ennis Circuit Court heard yesterday that a man was woken up from his sleep by noise coming from a front room of his home.
Garda Christopher Healy told the court that the offence was committed at 4am. The accused was arrested some six hours later. He said that the stolen mobile phone was never recovered and that another man involved in the incident has since died.
The court heard that the accused had several previous convictions.
Defence Counsel Emer Carey, BL, said that her client, who was inebriated at the time, went into the house via a side door that was open. “They let themselves in,” she said, adding that her client’s recollection of the incident was “sketchy”.
She said that her client had been “a chronic alcoholic” and has abused cannabis in the past. She said that her client has had a difficult background and lived rough at one point.
“The majority of his previous convictions relate to his chronic alcohol problem and his misuse of cannabis,” she said.
Ms Carey said that her client became a father for the first time in August, but has not yet seen his child as he has been in custody since July.
Judge Carroll Moran said he was taking the accused’s poor background into consideration. However he said there were aggravating factors in the case: the accused’s “very bad record” – including 10 previous convictions for theft and one for burglary – and the fact that this was “an invasion of somebody’s home in the middle of the night when they are asleep”.
He said he had to impose a prison sentence and jailed the accused for four years, the last year of which was suspended.
He backdated the sentence to July 26 last, when the accused went into custody.