WOMAN GETS SUSPENDED SENTENCE

A woman who had been involved in a spiral of criminality during her addiction to street pills, has been given a ten month suspended sentence after her solicitor told Dundalk District Court that she is getting counselling and making positive decisions in her life.

Nora McDonagh formerly with an address at Afton Drive, Greenacres, appeared before Judge Flann Brennan charged with a series of thefts and was summonsed for road traffic offences in 2015 and 2016.

The court heard of a further incident, where a wallet was taken from a bag in a car and failed attempts were made to use a bank card at Woodies, Dundalk Retail Park, where the accused was identified on CCTV at the till.

Last November, solicitor Dermot Monahan told the court McDonagh was seeking help for her addiction to medication and was willing to work with the Probation Service if she was given a chance.

The case had been adjourned to last week for a Probation report and Mr Monahan said the fact that Judge Brennan had kept McDonagh under supervision has ensured she had taken up counselling for her addiction and stuck with it.

He said his client is currently living in a women’s refuge and is ‘making positive decisions in her life, reforming from criminality which will only have a positive effect on her and the community.

He suggested that the court consider placing her on probation to allow the defendant ‘continue counselling and to see the light’ but Judge Brennan noted McDonagh had previously committed crimes while on probation.

Judge Brennan said: ‘I’m going to leave it up to her. There is no point in a probation bond as far as I’m concerned that would be a waste.’

He imposed a ten month sentence, but suspended it for a year.