Man sentenced to five years for role in burglary

DEFENDANT WAS ONE OF FIVE MEN WHO WENT ON THE RAMPAGE IN WEXFORD TOWN

FIVE years in prison was the price of to be paid by Ger Connors (28), Rosemount, Drinagh, for his part in an aggravated burglary.

The sentence was handed down to the offender at Wexford Circuit Court where he had been found guilty of the offence by a jury at a previous sitting.

Garda John Hubbard recalled the events of the night in September of 2018 when a gang of at least five men was on the rampage in Wexford Town.

Connors was one of those who arrived at 7 Marian Row in search of the late Patrick Boyle who lived there with his girlfriend and grandmother.

The visitors were initially repelled but by the time the garda arrived they had gained entry and extensive damage was done to the house.

The accused, who had a metal bar with him that night, made good his escape but was arrested in the new year.

Judge Martin Nolan was informed that Connors had 149 previous convictions on his record and had already spent ten years of his life in prison.

Though most of these convictions were for motoring offences, the list also covered counts of criminal damage, assault, theft and possession of a flick knife.

He had been a friend of Boyle’s in the past but it appeared to Garda Hubbard that there had been a falling out over drugs.

Defence counsel accepted that his client, father of two children, had been coming to the attention of the gardaí since the age of 15.

Judge Martin Nolan observed that invading someone’s home as a very serious matter, which must have been terrifying for at least two of the occupants of the house in Marian Row.

The court accepted that Connors had a tough upbringing and that there were underlying mental health difficulties before setting the five year term of imprisonment.