Published: Thursday, 18th March, 2010 12:00pm

Elderly woman robbed of €61,000

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A 29-year-old mother of four, who was charged with trespassing on the property of an elderly woman during an incident where €61,000 in cash was taken from a bedroom drawer, was sentenced to two years imprisonment with the final six months suspended and credit given for four months the accused already spent in custody on the charge.

Margaret McDonagh, 22 Rossfield Avenue, Tallaght, Dublin 24 pleaded guilty before Judge John O'Hagan at last Thursday's sitting of Cavan Circuit Court to entering the home of Katie Donohoe at Main Street, Ballyconnell on July 14, 2007, with intent to steal.

The court heard that the injured party, now 92, was 89 years old at the time of the incident. Ms. Donohoe "would have found it difficult to give evidence", said Sergeant Coyle who recounted events to Judge O'Hagan.

Ms. Donohoe went to the assistance of a woman outside her neighbour's house and brought her into her home to write a note to leave for the neighbour who was absent. While the unidentified woman was in Ms. Donohoe's home, a teenage boy entered the house and Ms. Donohoe agreed to his request to use the bathroom.

After they had left, Ms. Donohoe became suspicious as a handbag had been disturbed in the bathroom. She called her nephew, who discovered that the cash which he had set aside for refurbishment on his house was gone. The money was never recovered.

The garda investigation reached "a dead-end" when CCTV footage was fruitless, but in January 2008, they were notified that one of the seven fingerprints taken at the scene matched that of the accused.

For the prosecution, Monica Lawlor, BL, said it wasn't the state's case that Ms. McDonagh was the woman who Ms. Donohoe initially brought into her home. Ms. McDonagh's fingerprints, however, were on a red biscuit tin in Ms. Donohoe's home, although no money was taken from the tin.

When questioned, the accused initially denied any involvement in the incident, but the court heard that her subsequent plea spared the state a trial that "would have been lengthy, expensive and difficult". She had a previous conviction from Tallaght District Court for shoplifting.

In answer to a question from Colman Fitzgerald, senior counsel for Ms. McDonagh, Sgt. Coyle told the court that from his knowledge of the accused he had "never got the impression that she had a lot of money".

Mr. Fitzgerald told Judge O'Hagan how Ms. McDonagh went through "an extremely bad patch", exacerbated by her husband's suicide, when she "went off the rails" and abused alcohol and tablets, but has now "moved on", has "linked up with an addiction counsellor".

Ms. McDonagh had spent over four months in custody for this offence as she couldn't meet bail until it was varied in the High Court. "Somebody gained significantly from this and it wasn't Ms. McDonagh," said the senior counsel. "She wants, if possible, to draw a line."

Judge O'Hagan described the offence as "a particularly mean crime", noting that the burglars "struck lucky" with the amount of cash in the house.

Describing the offence as "serious", Judge O'Hagan said that the aggravating factors included the fact that it was planned and that the accused together with others in the group, targetted an elderly person on her own.

The judge ruled as stated, refusing leave for appeal.

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