Man gets nine month sentence for incident he does not remember at Kildare court

A MAN who vandalised a private CCTV and security lights was sentenced to nine months for his trouble in Naas District Court this week.

Thomas Byrne with an address at Ginnsmore Park in Swords appeared in court from the dock in the custody of the prison service.

Sergeant Dave Hanrahan for the State outlined the charges of trespass and criminal damage Mr Byrne was facing from his actions at Leinster Cottages, Maynooth on 4 August last.

The owner discovered that some lights and a camera had been damaged in the night. 

When they checked their CCTV footage, the 46-year-old Mr Byrne “was seen interfering with the camera” and caused €120 worth of damage.

“Was there any connection between the house and this man?” asked Judge Zaidan.

“None,” confirmed the sergeant, who then – due to an earlier guilty plea – proceeded to inform the court of Mr Byrne’s 23 previous conviction for criminal damage.

On remand

“He is on remand for a sentence tomorrow,” said defending barrister Donncha Craddock but added no further details.

 "He comes from Swords and is a machine driver but is now homeless, and alcohol is a major factor.

“Of this event he doesn’t remember anything but has explored the possibility of rehab on the outside,” he added.

“At his worst, he would be drinking four or five bottles of Captain Morgan (rum) a day, a very considerable amount of alcohol,” Mr Craddock revealed.

The judge then sentenced Mr Byrne to nine months in custody to start on the day of court, and set his bail bond at €100.