Man with 145 convictions held knife to woman's throat during cocaine-fuelled burglary
Defendant with 145 previous convictions stated drugs 'blew the socks off me'
This was after the man crashed a stolen car close to where she lived in Gyles Quay, a popular North Louth beach which was packed with cars on a sunny Sunday afternoon last year.
James McDonagh (38), Dominic Street, Newry, Co. Down, appeared before Dundalk Circuit Court via video link for a sentence hearing. He has been in custody since the offending occurred.
He pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary, unlawfully using a car without consent, dangerous driving and driving without insurance, at Gyles Quay on June 23, 2024. Other charges including false imprisonment of a female are being taken into consideration.
He told Gardaí who arrested him at the scene that he had taken too much cocaine. 'It blew the socks off me'.
The defendant, one of 13 children, moved to Newry from Dundalk, and has 145 previous convictions on both sides of the border.
Judge Dara Hayes adjourned the matter to June 19 and said that there will be a 'significant sentence'.
Gardaí had been alerted by the PSNI about a stolen BMW which had crossed the border. A car was spotted acting suspiciously around Bellurgan, north of Dundalk, but despite extensive searches throughout the early hours of the morning it could not to be located.
Around 2pm this car was seen on the main Carlingford Road. It turned for Gyles Quay and went into a car park.
Gyles Quay basking in glorious sunshine on a day similar to the incident. Photo: Ken Finegan/www.newspics.ie
News in 90 Seconds - 7th June
Det Gda Eimear Gallagher in plain clothes and a colleague wearing full uniform approached the BMW. Its driver's door was open.
A man was in the front seat. He didn't engage with the officers and reached down.
Det Gda Gallagher testified that she feared he had a weapon. The driver turned on the ignition. She asked him to get out.
By this stage the other guard was standing in front of the car. The engine was being revved and Det Gda Gallagher told her colleague to move.
At that point Mr McDonagh took off at such speed that the car was 'bouncing' across the potholed surface as he left the car park.
The two Gardaí raced to their vehicle and once on the move activated the blue lights and siren to try to get the BMW to stop and to warn pedestrians.
One man had to lift a buggy containing a child out of the way to avoid being hit by the defendant as he sped past. Read more
The car struck a parked van and as it continued back towards the main road it mounted a footpath on which there were a lot of pedestrians before colliding with a wall and coming to a stop.
The driver got out and ran. He had a large silver knife in his right hand and a hammer in the other. He scaled a fence and ran along the beach towards Ferguson's caravan park.
Meanwhile, a woman living in a bungalow at the park was sitting on a sofa. It was so warm she had the back doors open.
Suddenly, around 3pm, a man came through the door with what she described as a butcher's knife. He had something else in his other hand but she was only focused on the knife.
He had blood on his face. He screamed for her car keys and demanded money. The woman's young son came out of his room and was screaming.
The woman was in such fear that she was willing to co-operate to protect her son. She couldn't find the keys. McDonagh held the knife to her throat until she found them.
While this was going on armed Gardaí had arrived outside. The victim saw them. The man ran and was chased through the house by the guards and out the back door.
Det Gda Gallagher told the mother and child to stay inside and not come out until Gardaí returned.
Outside, one of the other officers pulled his gun and the man lay down on grass. He was arrested there by Det Gda Gallagher at 3.04pm, some 500m from the house.
The man said: 'I think I took too much cocaine. It blew the socks off me. I took the car. I didn't know it was wanted. I was driving nice and slow. I was washing up 'Coke' to do 'Crack'.
'I didn't know they were guards. I put the boot down and drove off. I panicked and I crashed.'
Later, he added: 'Jesus, I didn't do a burglary, did I? Only slagging.'
McDonagh said that he wasn't going to use the knife.
"I was only scaring her. I saw youse outside and I ran. You got me.'
He denied putting a knife to the woman's throat. "She walked to me. She must have wanted a claim or something.'
"I could get big time. I'm sorry for what I said and what I did.'
He signed the memos of interview.
The court heard of 145 previous convictions – 85 in the Republic of Ireland and sixty in the North.
These included unauthorised taking of vehicles, theft, possession of a knife, robbery, trespass, assault, burglary, assaulting police and drugs possession.
Gda Laura O'Connor read out out a harrowing Victim Impact Statement which detailed how the woman and her family had moved to Ireland hoping for a safe and better quality of life. Her husband lost his life tragically here.
She spoke of her son screaming for his life and the ongoing consequences of the attack. She felt completely unsafe in her own home.
There were flashbacks of the knife against her throat. Her son's terrifying screams haunted her.
She thanked the Gardaí.
It was stated in a probation report that James McDonagh accepted full responsibility.
He had taken a combination of drugs with whiskey when he stole the vehicle in Northern Ireland to sell across the border to buy cocaine.
He identified as a member of the Travelling community, the second youngest of 13 children. His parents moved to Newry and he intends to live with his brother in Dundalk.
Single, and the father of two adult children, he had never worked and was reliant on social welfare.
The defendant was on methadone and continued to use drugs in custody. He was assessed at high risk of reoffending.
Judge Hayes said that he was grateful to the victim for coming to court. It was of much assistance to him.
'It was a horrifying experience for you and your son. I'm dreadfully sorry. It's unimaginable how awful it must have been for you and your son.'
The judge said these were extremely serious offences.
He allowed time for a drugs counsellor's report to be prepared.
Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme
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