Man (33) who operated online concert and match ticket scam is jailed

Stephen Maguire

A man who conned women out of money for concert and match tickets in an online ticket scam has been jailed.

Vincent McDonagh (33) appeared by videolink at Letterkenny District Court in Co Donegal where he pleaded to the charges.

The court was told that McDonagh advertised tickets for the events on the DoneDeal website, but that no tickets for any of the events ever existed.

Garda Sergeant Jim Collins outlined the background to the thefts.

He told how McDonagh had advertised two tickets for a Post Malone concert on the DoneDeal website.

Ms Jessie Maher transferred €160 to a Western Union account and the money was withdrawn by McDonagh on October 31st, 2018, but the tickets never arrived.

Ms Maher was left out of pocket and never received the tickets.

On November 1st, 2018, McDonagh then advertised two rugby tickets for a game between Ireland and New Zealand.

Another woman, Ms Claire McMahon, transferred €150 for the tickets, and this was also withdrawn from a Western Union account by McDonag,h but again, the tickets never arrived.

Both charges are contrary to Section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act of 2001.

The court was told that McDonagh, of Lord Edward St, Kilkenny, had 25 previous convictions for a range of offences, including burglary, theft, and criminal damage.

Solicitor for the accused, Mr Rory O'Brien, said a lot of time had elapsed since these incidents, and his client was now a different man with the passage of time.

He had moved to Northern Ireland to rebuild his life after having issues with alcohol and also cocaine.

However, he was now in a supportive relationship, and all he could do was to apologise and to say sorry for anyone he had let down.

He added that McDonagh wanted to put this behind him and finish with this traunche of his life and to continue to rebuild his life aged just 33.

Judge Emile Daly said the money was paid in good faith for these tickets, but this was a fabrication and there were no such tickets.

She added that even though time had passed, the parties were still impacted and that both women were still out of pocket.

Judge Daly said she was happy to hear that McDonagh was now settled and in a stable relationship.

However, she sentenced McDonagh to two months in prison for each theft charge and ordered the sentences to run concurrently.