Monaghan car thief gets 10 months in prison

A 29-YEAR-OLD Monaghan man, who pleaded guilty to a series of public order offences, along with the taking of a car without permission, was given consecutive prison sentences coming to 10 months when he was dealt with at Monaghan District Court.

The judge had been told that Daryl O’Leary had 115 previous convictions, many of which were for public order breaches, but including a large portion for the unauthorised use of vehicles and other road traffic violations.

A number of addresses around Monaghan Town were given for the defendant, the most recent being at Railway View, Kilnacloy, with others at the Killygowan and Mullaghmatt estates as well as at “no fixed abode”.

O’Leary had admitted his involvement in the unauthorised taking of a vehicle at Crossmoyle, Clones, on February 2, 2025. Sergeant Lisa McEntee said he was the driver of the silver Toyota Corolla when it was recorded on CCTV as it passed a shop in Clones. The vehicle had earlier been reported stolen by its owner, Patrick McGrory.

At 7:40pm on Friday, December 12 last, the defendant had been on Monaghan’s Dublin Street while intoxicated, and he was shouting loudly at people who were inside the door of a public house. Gardaí directed him to leave the area but he failed to do this.

He then ran away when told he was being arrested, but was apprehended a short time later, and he became abusive to officers while being placed in handcuffs.

On Monday March 9 last, gardaí responded to reports about a number of men who were gathered at Church Square in Monaghan Town, the sergeant recalled. When officers went to the location, they saw Mr O’Leary being held upright against a wall by other men.

Upon being approached, the defendant became verbally abusive and was arrested. He continued to be aggressive after that and, again, had to have handcuffs placed on him.

Sgt McEntee said O’Leary had 115 previous convictions, including one recorded in February 2025 when he got a five-month prison sentence for the unauthorised taking of a vehicle. In June 2025, he got four months for another unauthorised taking, while counts of theft and driving while uninsured and disqualified were taken into consideration.

A number of other convictions were mentioned, including one at Cavan District Court in April 2025 for taking a car without permission that resulted in a five-month sentence. Sgt McEntee noted that there were a lot of road traffic offences, and that a 15-year disqualification had also been handed down at one stage.

Solicitor Martin Cosgrove said his client had three children, and had a lot of problems with drink going back over a long time. But, since going into prison on May 1 last, he had completed a detox programme and was engaging again with an addiction counsellor.

O’Leary had been homeless for a long while, the solicitor added, but his partner had obtained a house in Cootehill and he had left Monaghan altogether. He was in a stable relationship and would now have somewhere to live on a long-term basis, as a result it was hoped the court would not be seeing him again.

Judge Raymond Finnegan said, unfortunately, the accused’s track record meant he would be receiving a lengthy sentence, starting out with five months for taking the car in Clones. A 20-year driving disqualification was added for this offence.

Two months in prison was given for the abusive behaviour at Church Square on March 9 last, with a further three months handed down for failing to comply with Garda directions at the town’s Dublin Street on December 12.

Judge Finnegan confirmed that all the prison terms were consecutive, meaning that 10 months was to be served, albeit backdated to May 1 when Mr O’Leary was taken into custody.

Any remaining charges were taken into consideration, while recognisances were fixed in the event of any appeal.

* This article was produced with support from the Courts Reporting Scheme