A father and son used slash hooks to break the windows of a house next door to a crèche in Castlebar. Another relative used a chair to break the glass.
Martin Sweeney (42) of 24 Lios na Circe, Saleen, Castlebar, his son Bernie Sweeney (21) with the same address and Martin’s brother John Sweeney (39) of 27 Millview Crescent, Ballina, all pleaded guilty to criminal damage arising from the incident on Station Road, Castlebar, shortly after 5pm on July 20, 2016.
CCTV footage shown to the court showed three other individuals standing outside the house before running inside, chased by the Sweeneys.
Martin Sweeney and Bernie Sweeney were both carrying long slash hooks, while John Sweeney picked up a chair. All three started breaking windows in the house.
An entrance to a crèche can be seen less than ten yards away.
The trio then returned to their car, gesticulated at the occupants of the house and sped away.
They were stopped and arrested a short distance away, on the approach to the Cathal Duffy roundabout.
A victim-impact statement from Michael Darcy, an occupant of the house, was read to the court. Mr Darcy said he was ‘terrified’ when the Sweeneys ran at the house. They tried to hit him as he ran into the house, he said.
He also said that he and his family were unable to move from their house for another four months, and that they struggled to sleep there since the incident. He said he felt unable to live in Castlebar anymore.
Previous convictions
The court was told that at the time of the incident, Bernie Sweeney was serving a four-year suspended sentence for violent disorder, handed to him in February 2015.
Martin Sweeney had eleven previous convictions, the most recent in 2006 when he was jailed for assault.
John Sweeney had three previous convictions, the most recent for violent disorder in 2002, for which he was given a suspended sentence.
Eoin Garavan, counsel for Martin Sweeney, said the incident arose after Mr Darcy and others arrived at the house of a relative of the Sweeneys elsewhere in Castlebar in relation to an ongoing dispute, and a knife had been produced by Mr Darcy.
He said the Sweeneys had reacted in an ‘inappropriate way’ to a ‘cry for help’ from Martin Sweeney’s sister.
Mr Garavan said the background to the case was ‘not black and white’ but that it ‘won’t happen again’.
Diarmuid Connolly, counsel for Bernie Sweeney, said his client has two children to whom he is ‘devoted’ to. He said that while the Probation Services said Bernie Sweeney was at a ‘high risk’ of reoffending, there was some hope due to family supports and his willingness to engage with the Probation Services.
Cliona Boland, counsel for John Sweeney, said her client is a father of nine and a full-time parent, as his wife works in Castlebar. She said Mr Sweeney had a history of involvement with soccer and boxing clubs. She said he was ‘ashamed’ of this incident, as it had compromised his role as a parent who ought to set a good example to his children.
Judge Rory McCabe said this was ‘a very frightening act’ of criminal damage ‘next door to a crèche’.
In the case of Martin and John Sweeney, he said the ‘bad blood’ between the parties was not a mitigating factor, as ‘law enforcement should be left to the gardaí’. He sentenced them each to three years in prison, suspended for five years. Each much also undergo 240 hours community service.
Judge McCabe said there had to be ‘some consequences’ for Bernie Sweeney as the incident had taken place during the terms of a suspended sentence. He said he was not prepared to finalise the sentence on Bernie Sweeney and adjourned the case against him for one year. He said he had a four-year prison term in mind, and that how much would be suspended would depend on Mr Sweeney’s engagement and behaviour in the coming year.
