Man who stole school Trócaire boxes given final chance

A MAN who broke into a primary school and stole hundreds of euro from Trócaire boxes has received a suspended prison sentence.

Gardaí spotted Martin Lumsden, 35, and another man climbing over the railings of Gaelscoil Cholmcille in Coolock, north Dublin, in the early hours of the morning.

Garda Finbarr Fleming told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court he also saw the pair throw a heavy bag over the railings and arrested them after finding a large amount of coins inside. He discovered one of the school’s side windows had been smashed and the principal’s office raided.

Lumsden, of The Square, Larchhill, Santry, and John Finn, 32, of Cromcastle Close, Kilmore, admitted burglary of the school on April 18, 2018.

Lumsden also pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of a firearm at Mace in Raheny, Dublin, on May 7, 2018.

The court heard he was on bail for the burglary when he went into the Mace shop armed with a gun and stole around €500 from two tills. Neither the cash nor the firearm was recovered.

Judge Melanie Greally described Lumsden’s life as ‘a never-ending cycle of offending and addiction and homelessness’.

She said his ‘life story so far has been very bleak’ but that people in his position have gone on to do great things.

She added he had made every effort to address his drug addiction and was now stable so imposed a two-year sentence for the burglary and a consecutive prison term of five-and-a-half years for the armed robbery.

The judge suspended all sentences for seven years on condition that he keep the peace, remain drug-free and continue to engage with the Peter McVerry trust.

Finn was sentenced at a previous hearing.

The burglary was aggravated by it taking place at a school, she added, by charity money being stolen and by the damage done in commission of the offence.