Kildare hotel guest wakes to find man standing over bed, court hears
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THE case of a man convicted of trespassing in a sleeping guest’s hotel room demonstrated the advantage of proper legal representation after his 12-month sentence was mitigated down to just five weeks.
James Mooney (31) of Windmill Court, Johnstown Bridge, Enfield appeared recently at Naas District Court from custody charged with trespass at the Hamlet Court Hotel in Johnstown Bridge on 16 June. Almost immediately, his barrister Sean Egan told Judge Catherine Hayden that “there are two charges before my client, and he has pleaded guilty in respect of both”.
(The second charge of burglary from Centra in the same village on 16 June was struck out after the defendant’s guilty plea.) Judge Hayden then asked prosecuting officer Sergeant Mary Meade to outline the details.
“Judge, on 16 June 2026 gardaí responded to a call from the Hamlet Court Hotel, where a guest in Room 104 woke at 3am and reported a man standing over his bed,” she said. “He reported nothing stolen, and the man left through the window he came in.
“The night porter then saw the man in a locked yard, and he fled the scene,” said Sgt Meade.
The sergeant revealed that Mr Mooney had 202 previous convictions, 34 of which were for theft, while 24 were for burglary.
“Mr Mooney is willing to meet the charges head on,” said Mr Egan, defending. “He didn’t take up his bail; he understands he is at risk of custody, so he is willing to serve as much as he can to get out and care for the mother of his expected child,” he added.
“His guilty plea has also saved the injured party from having to come to court to give evidence. Mr Mooney’s assistance should be marked higher than normal,” he said.
However, Mr Egan did concede: “While breaking and entering is at the lower end, I understand waking up with someone in your hotel room would be absolutely terrifying, but when Mr Mooney noticed someone in the room, he left immediately,” the barrister stated. “He has a different recollection of the night, and says he was only halfway in the window.
“He is a pleasant man to speak to, and has considerable insight. I accept he has a considerable record, but he is on a very low dose of methadone and is presently drug-free. He has spent ten weeks in custody in relation to this matter.
“He has had a lot of tragedy in his life, as both his father and brother died in the last two years when he was serving separate sentences. Previously, he spent 18 months on an apprentice electrician course in Intel, but unfortunately that fell away because of addiction.
“His brother is an electrician and is willing to help him back on this path.
“He accepts he erred, he accepts he has a considerable record, but he has put in place the building blocks to amend his future. I ask the court to give credit for time done, suspend the remainder, and allow him free before the birth of his child,” Mr Egan concluded.
“I will give him some credit for his early plea, but he has 202 previous convictions and he does this?” asked Judge Hayden rhetorically. “It is quite shocking, and he obviously knew what he was doing.
“I will take on board that he is expecting a child; I will take on board there is a place on an apprenticeship when he is released, so I will suspend part of the sentence,” she said.
And so began the maths.
Judge Hayden sentenced to Mr Mooney to 12 months in prison – the maximum available for this crime – but reduced this to six months “for the early plea”. She noted that he had been in custody since 25 June, and backdated the beginning of his sentence to that date, then suspended the final three months of the sentence for two years.
This now meant he had a release date of 25 September, in five weeks and one day’s time.
