Son of GAA boss Davy Fitzgerald given suspended sentence after stealing €35,000 from former employer

The Journal

2 days ago

A SON OF controversial Antrim hurling manger, and Clare hurling legend, Davy Fitzgerald, was given a fully suspended 12-month prison sentence after he admitted stealing €35,000 from his then employer, Bank of Ireland, to feed his 'out-of-control gambling addiction'.
Colm Fitzgerald, (28), Castlequinn, Sixmilebridge, Co Clare, stole the money while employed to be in charge of cash at a cash counter, at Bank of Ireland, Shannon Industrial Estate, Shannon, Co Clare, on seven separate dates in 2023.
Fitzgerald, who immediately resigned from the bank, after the thefts were discovered during an internal audit, told the bank and Gardaí that he stole the cash to sustain a gambling addiction.
Fitzgerald's barrister, Kenny Kerins, told Ennis Circuit Criminal Court that 'steeped in GAA' Fitzgerald, had paid all of the money back with the support and assistance of his family.
Mr Keirns said Fitzgerald was caught in a 'serious' grip of addiction to sports gambling and that he had 'expressed relief' when the thefts were discovered.
Fitzgerald admitted stealing the cash in bundles of €5,000 on seven separate dates in 2023.
Mr Kerins told the court: 'He was living a life of secrets, he has remorse, he has shame. This young man had everything going well in his life, he was engaged in sport, he had a job, and in seven actions he absolutely destroys his career.
The barrister told the sentencing hearing last Friday that, prior to the discovery of the cash thefts, Fitzgerald's gambling had gotten so serious, the well known bookmaker chain 'Paddy Power' banned him from betting with them.
'They were so concerned that they wrote to him and banned him from gambling with them…this was a serious addiction for Mr Fitzgerald,' Mr Kerins said.
'His life was completely out of control, so much so that he sees all this as a positive thing, he sees it as a disengagement from his addiction.'
Mr Kerins said when Bank of Ireland's auditors discovered €35,000 was missing, Fitzgerald prepared a document that would have concealed 'his deceit' but he 'cancelled it almost immediately'.
'He was about to further his criminal endeavour, but he stopped it. He went home and told his grandfather and close family, he knew the jig was up and he came forward, he met with bank officials and made admissions, he resigned and met with gardaí by appointment,' said Mr Kerins.
'That is to his credit, he faced up to it, he is a gentleman,' said the barrister.
Mr Kerins said Fitzgerald was 'aware' thefts from his employer were 'unacceptable' but he said Fitzgerald had taken responsibility for his offending as well as measures not to return to gambling.
'He and his family are steeped in GAA, which was perhaps how he became involved in (sports) gambling. He has great passion for sport and he is still involved in coaching which is a great pride to him.'
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Mr Kerins said Fitzgerald had 'engaged with therapeutic services and had worked as courier' to pay his family back the money they reimbursed to the bank.
The barrister said Fitzgerald has, along with his partner, opened a coffee shop business in Sixmilebridge, employing four people, and that Fitzgerald had 'taken careful steps' to limit his own 'access to the business's finances and cash, so there is oversight that'.
Detective Garda Paddy Bourke, Shannon Garda Station, told the court he believed Fitzgerald had done all he could to cooperate with the garda investigation as well as trying to tackle his addiction, 'and I hope to continues to do so', added Gda Bourke.
CCTV footage located at the bank's cash counters, which may have led them to Fitzgerald, had expired by the time the bank discovered the thefts and alerted gardai, and so Fitzgerald's pleas were valuable to the prosecution, the court heard.
Mr Kerins said Fitzgerald had 'no previous convictions', had engaged in a residential therapy programme run by the Bushypark Addiction Treatment Centre, and he continues to attend regular meetings of Gamblers Anonymous (GA).
'He's not seeking to blame anyone, he developed a low level gambling addiction which snowballed and got out-of-control while he was working as an employee of the bank — the court is aware of the compulsive nature of gambling addiction.'
Prosecuting barrister, Sarah-Jane Comerford, said the prosecution 'accepted (Fitzgerald) was suffering from a gambling addiction at the time'.
Outlining his judgement, Judge Francis Comerford said Fitzgerald 'took bundles of cash from his employer each worth €5,000' and that he considered a two-year headline sentence to be appropriate.
'It was a significant breach of trust, it was a significant offence, and the aggravating factor is that it was theft by an employee from their employer, it was an abuse of trust to steal from them.'
The judge told Fitzgerald: 'Gambling is not an excuse for theft, and one should seek help without having to resort to this.'
However, taking into account Mr Keirns mitigation plea, the judge said he accepted that persons in addiction who 'have the compulsion to do this (steal), does reduce culpability somewhat'.
The judge said there was an air of desperation about Fitzgerald's actions: 'It was not a sophisticated fraud, it was a response to a need for money for gambling.'
Reducing Fitzgerald's sentence to 12 months, the judge continued: 'It wasn't a commercial calculated crime, so that tends to put it at a lower level, and it was discovered very quickly, following an internal audit.'
Judge Comerford fully suspended the 12-month jail term for a period of 18 months, and directed that Fitzgerald continue to engage with gambling support services.
'While the amount of money is significant, it would have been more serious if it was someone vulnerable that was preyed upon,' said the judge.
'This was not done for a high lifestyle or to accrue wealth, but, it was for a gambling addiction.'
Afterwards, Colm Fitzgerald hugged family members outside the court.
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