THE hard-working business community of the city deserve better than to be subjected to what a Judge described as a campaign of “gratuitous larceny” by a woman with 125 previous convictions, 49 of which were for theft, and 45 for being drunk and a nuisance in public.
Judge Tom McSharry told Galway District Court this week that he accepted the woman before him had a chronic alcohol addiction, but the business people of the city deserved protection and the public and tourists needed protection from abuse in the streets, before sentencing her to a total of six months in prison.
Caroline O’Brien c/o Osterly Lodge, Salthill, the Court was told by Prosecuting Garda Sgt Damien Prendergast, faced “a large volume of charges.” O’Brien pleaded guilty to 11 theft charges and a number of charges for being drunk and a nuisance in public and abusing and threatening Gardaí who had to deal with her.
Donal Cronin BL, advised by Sarah Ryan solr Limerick, pleaded that his client was a member of the Travelling community where there was a culture of drinking. She had grown up experiencing alcohol abuse and neglect but now acknowledged she had a serious problem and needed help.
She was 46, divorced and the mother of seven children, two of whom are in care.
She was remorseful for her actions, Mr Cronin said, noting that most of the theft charges were minor and usually involved alcohol. Her abuse of the Gardaí was uncharacteristic as when sober she was a polite lady. Her guilty plea had saved the State a lot of time and effort and he asked for leniency.
He added that his client wished to apologise unreservedly for her behavior and especially to the Gardaí she abused. Sgt Prendergast said he accepted the apology on behalf of the Gardaí and acknowledged that when the defendant was sober, she was a different person.
The theft charges include items from a city newsagent, Tesco Express, Penneys, Fine Wines, Dunnes Stores, Aldi, Circle K and Park House Hotel where she stole a customer’s phone.
Judge McSharry said the theft of the phone was particularly nasty as people held so many personal details such as photos and contact details on them. The phone in question was recovered by Gardaí.
Sgt Prendergast pointed out that these latest offences had been carried out while O’Brien was on strict bail conditions.
Summing up Judge McSharry said Mr Cronin had done a very good job on behalf of his client, putting forward a strong and comprehensive plea and he accepted the bona fides of O’Brien’s expressions of remorse.
However, the charges were extremely serious, which he described as “gratuitous larceny” and added the hard-working business community of the city deserved better than this and have to be protected.
A three-month sentence was imposed on one public order conviction and the rest were taken into account. A consecutive three-month sentence was imposed on one theft conviction and the rest were also taken into account. A total of six months’ imprisonment.
The Judge noted that she now had an opportunity while in custody to deal with her serious addiction issues and he hope this works out well for her.
