Latest news with #DermotSheehan
The Journal
23-05-2025
- The Journal
Soldier jailed for drug dealing at army barracks
A SOLDIER WHO bagged and mixed thousands of euro of drugs in his room in a Cork army barracks as the building was a 'safe haven' which was guarded '24 hours a day and 365 days a year,' has been jailed for four years. Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard that Shane Scanlon (35) served in the Irish army for eighteen years. He reportedly became involved in drug dealing because of 'financial pressures.' He resigned from the Defence Forces after he was caught with close to €27,000 worth of cocaine in a room he rented in Collins Barracks in Cork on March 27th, 2024. Dt Garda Derry O'Brien said that Mr Scanlon of Cooline Heights, Ballyvoloon, Cobh Co Cork was the sole occupant of the room. In addition to cocaine gardaí found €1,100 in cash and 'numerous drug paraphernalia' including a blender used for mixing drugs, a weighing scales and bags. Gardaí found evidence of drug dealing on a phone owned by Mr Scanlon with the offending behaviour going as far back as 2021. A search was carried out at his home and €2,250 in cash was also recovered. Mr Scanlon made full admissions to gardaí upon his arrest. He also co-operated fully with the garda investigation. Dt Garda O'Brien said that Mr Scanlon was using the army barracks as a 'safe haven' for storing drugs as 'opposed to his house address in Cobh.' The father of three has two previous convictions for minor driving offences. He has not come to the attention of gardaí since his arrest. The drug dealing was carried out purely for monetary gain and there is no suggestion of drug addiction or a drug debt. Defence barrister, Ray Boland, SC, said that his client had resigned from the Army after years of 'otherwise exemplary service.' He asked Judge Dermot Sheehan to impose a fully suspended sentence in the case in light of certain family circumstances of the defendant. He said that his client had suffered from homelessness in the past. Advertisement Mr Boland indicated that Mr Scanlon was keenly aware of the 'shame' his conduct brought on his unit. 'He is ashamed of that and remorseful. I would ask for his admissions and co operation to be taken in to account. The amount (of cocaine) though considerable is at the lower end for Section 15A. This (offending behaviour) was done because he was under financial pressure.' In sentencing Judge Dermot Sheehan said that Mr Scanlon had a lack of 'victim awareness' and 'empathy' of the real consequences of drugs on the citizens of Ireland. He said that the accused wasn't just storing drugs in his room in the barracks but was 'actively bagging and mixing the product for distribution onwards.' Judge Sheehan said that Mr Scanlon was taking advantage of the fact that the barracks was 'controlled with armed guards 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.' He said that Mr Scanlon wasn't on the garda radar and only came to garda attention because they were contacted by the authorities in the barracks. Describing what had occurred as an 'extraordinary breach of trust' he jailed Mr Scanlon for five years suspending the last year of the sentence. He cited the signed plea, the lack of relevant previous convictions, and the personal circumstances of the accused as factors in his decision to depart from the mandatory ten year sentence for a Section 15A offence. Meanwhile, Mr Scanlon previously pleaded guilty to being in possession of cocaine at Collins Barracks on Old Youghal Road in Cork the purpose of selling or otherwise supplying it to another, on March 27th, 2024. He also admitted having cocaine unlawfully in his possession for his own use on the same occasion. Mr Scanlon also pleaded guilty to money-laundering in respect of €1,100 at Collins Barracks and another sum of €2,250 at his home in Cobh. He also entered a guilty plea to being in possession of articles, namely a blender and weighing scales in circumstances giving rise to a 'reasonable inference' it was for the purpose of commission, preparation, facilitation or instigation of a drug-trafficking offence. The charge of having cocaine for sale and supply when it it exceeds €13,000 comes with a mandatory ten year minimum prison sentence unless there are exceptional circumstances.
RTÉ News
23-05-2025
- RTÉ News
Soldier jailed for 4 years over barracks cocaine seizure
A soldier who bagged and mixed thousands of euro of drugs in his room in a Cork army barracks as the building was a "safe haven" which was guarded "24 hours a day and 365 days a year," has been jailed for four years. Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard that Shane Scanlon, 35, served in the Defence Forces for 18 years. He reportedly became involved in drug dealing because of "financial pressures". He resigned from the Defence Forces after he was caught with close to €27,000 worth of cocaine in a room he rented in Collins Barracks in Cork on 27 March 2024. Dt Garda Derry O'Brien said that Scanlon of Cooline Heights, Ballyvoloon, Cobh, Co Cork was the sole occupant of the room. In addition to cocaine, gardaí found €1,100 in cash and "numerous drug paraphernalia" including a blender used for mixing drugs, weighing scales and bags. Gardaí found evidence of drug dealing on a phone owned by Scanlon with the offending behaviour going as far back as 2021. A search was carried out at his home and €2,250 in cash was also recovered. Scanlon made full admissions to gardaí upon his arrest. He also cooperated fully with the garda investigation. Dt Gda O'Brien said that Scanlon was using the army barracks as a "safe haven" for storing drugs as "opposed to his house address in Cobh". The father of three has two previous convictions for minor driving offences. He has not come to the attention of gardaí since his arrest. The drug dealing was carried out purely for monetary gain and there is no suggestion of drug addiction or a drug debt. Defence barrister, Ray Boland, SC, said that his client had resigned from the Defence Forces after years of "otherwise exemplary service". He asked Judge Dermot Sheehan to impose a fully suspended sentence in the case in light of certain family circumstances of the defendant. He said that his client had suffered from homelessness in the past. Mr Boland indicated that Scanlon was keenly aware of the "shame" his conduct brought on his unit. "He is ashamed of that and remorseful. I would ask for his admissions and cooperation to be taken in to account. "The amount (of cocaine) though considerable is at the lower end for Section 15A. This (offending behaviour) was done because he was under financial pressure," he said. In sentencing, Judge Dermot Sheehan said that Scanlon had a lack of "victim awareness" and "empathy" for the real consequences of drugs on the citizens of Ireland. He said that the accused was not just storing drugs in his room in the barracks but was "actively bagging and mixing the product for distribution onwards". Judge Sheehan said that Scanlon was taking advantage of the fact that the barracks were "controlled with armed guards 24 hours a day and 365 days a year". He said that Scanlon was not on the garda radar and only came to garda attention because they were contacted by the authorities in the barracks. Describing what had occurred as an "extraordinary breach of trust", he jailed Scanlon for five years, suspending the last year of the sentence. He cited the signed plea, the lack of relevant previous convictions, and the personal circumstances of the accused as factors in his decision to depart from the mandatory ten year sentence for a Section 15A offence. Meanwhile, Scanlon previously pleaded guilty to being in possession of cocaine at Collins Barracks on Old Youghal Road in Cork the purpose of selling or otherwise supplying it to another, on 27 March 2024. He also admitted having cocaine unlawfully in his possession for his own use on the same occasion. Scanlon also pleaded guilty to money laundering in respect of €1,100 at Collins Barracks and another sum of €2,250 at his home in Cobh. He also entered a guilty plea to being in possession of articles, namely a blender and weighing scales in circumstances giving rise to a "reasonable inference" that it was for the purpose of commission, preparation, facilitation or instigation of a drug-trafficking offence.
Irish Independent
23-05-2025
- Irish Independent
Soldier caught with cocaine worth €27,000 in his army barracks room is jailed for four years
Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard that Shane Scanlon (35) served in the Irish army for 18 years. He reportedly became involved in drug dealing because of 'financial pressures.' He resigned from the Defence Forces after he was caught with close to €27,000 worth of cocaine in a room he rented in Collins Barracks in Cork on March 27, 2024. Det Garda Derry O'Brien said that Mr Scanlon of Cooline Heights, Ballyvoloon, Cobh, Co Cork, was the sole occupant of the room. In addition to cocaine, gardaí found €1,100 in cash and 'numerous drug paraphernalia' including a blender used for mixing drugs, a weighing scales and bags. Gardaí found evidence of drug dealing on a phone owned by Mr Scanlon with the offending behaviour going as far back as 2021. A search was carried out at his home and €2,250 in cash was also recovered. Mr Scanlon made full admissions to gardaí upon his arrest. He also cooperated fully with the garda investigation. Dt Garda O'Brien said that Mr Scanlon was using the army barracks as a 'safe haven' for storing drugs as 'opposed to his house address in Cobh.' The father-of-three has two previous convictions for minor driving offences. He has not come to the attention of gardaí since his arrest. The drug dealing was carried out purely for monetary gain and there is no suggestion of drug addiction or a drug debt. Defence barrister, Ray Boland SC, said that his client had resigned from the Army after years of 'otherwise exemplary service.' He asked Judge Dermot Sheehan to impose a fully suspended sentence in the case in light of certain family circumstances of the defendant. He said that his client had suffered from homelessness in the past. Mr Boland indicated that Mr Scanlon was keenly aware of the 'shame' his conduct brought on his unit. 'He is ashamed of that and remorseful. I would ask for his admissions and co operation to be taken in to account. 'The amount (of cocaine) though considerable is at the lower end for Section 15A. This (offending behaviour) was done because he was under financial pressure.' In sentencing, Judge Dermot Sheehan, said that Mr Scanlon had a lack of 'victim awareness' and 'empathy' of the real consequences of drugs on the citizens of Ireland. He said that the accused wasn't just storing drugs in his room in the barracks but was 'actively bagging and mixing the product for distribution onwards.' Judge Sheehan said that Mr Scanlon was taking advantage of the fact that the barracks was 'controlled with armed guards 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.' He said that Mr Scanlon wasn't on the garda radar and only came to garda attention because they were contacted by the authorities in the barracks. Describing what had occurred as an 'extraordinary breach of trust' he jailed Mr Scanlon for five years suspending the last year of the sentence. He cited the signed plea, the lack of relevant previous convictions, and the personal circumstances of the accused as factors in his decision to depart from the mandatory 10-year sentence for a Section 15A offence. Meanwhile, Mr Scanlon previously pleaded guilty to being in possession of cocaine at Collins Barracks on Old Youghal Road in Cork the purpose of selling or otherwise supplying it to another, on March 27, 2024. He also admitted having cocaine unlawfully in his possession for his own use on the same occasion. Mr Scanlon also pleaded guilty to money-laundering in respect of €1,100 at Collins Barracks and another sum of €2,250 at his home in Cobh. He also entered a guilty plea to being in possession of articles, namely a blender and weighing scales in circumstances giving rise to a 'reasonable inference' it was for the purpose of commission, preparation, facilitation or instigation of a drug-trafficking offence. The charge of having cocaine for sale and supply when it it exceeds €13,000 comes with a mandatory ten year minimum prison sentence unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Irish Examiner
16-05-2025
- Irish Examiner
Drunk Cork woman who fled a collision with garda on the bonnet of her car is jailed
A member of An Garda Síochána was put at risk of death or serious harm when a motorist drove a distance with the officer on the bonnet of her car, and on Friday the 43-year-old drink driver was jailed for two years. Judge Dermot Sheehan imposed a sentence of three years, with the last year suspended, in the case against Áine O'Connor, of 76 Riverview Estate, Tower, Co Cork, at Cork Circuit Criminal Court. The indictable charge against Ms O'Connor is brought under Section 13 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act. It states that: 'On October 26, 2023, at Cloghroe, Blarney, Co Cork, that she intentionally or recklessly engaged in conduct, namely driving a Red Renault Megane at Garda Karol Mellamphy and knocking him on to the bonnet of the car and continuing to drive for a distance carrying him on the bonnet before stopping, which created a substantial risk of death or serious harm to another.' Garda Eric Stafford said Garda Mellamphy was on his way home from work dressed half in uniform when there was a motor collision and he followed the car, which struck his vehicle. 'He exited his vehicle and approached the Renault Megane where there were two males and a female. He identified himself as a garda and the two males, who did not believe him, assaulted him. 'Áine O'Connor got into the driver's seat and attempted to flee. Garda Mellamphy stood in front of the Megane and directed her not to drive the car. She drove straight at him, knocked him on to the bonnet of the car and she drove towards Cloghroe with the guard on the bonnet. The driver brought the vehicle to a stop.' Defence senior counsel Marjorie Farrelly said: 'She was in an alcoholic state. She has written a letter of apology to the injured party. There is a report from the probation services. 'Undoubtedly, this is a serious offence and the injured party would be affected by what happened. 'The accused has a chaotic lifestyle. She did not have a first conviction until 40 years of age. 'On the night in question, to put if very mildly, she very unwisely after drink, was driving [one of the two young men] home. 'Her feeling was that this happened in a split second. The intentionality of it was in the moment. She expresses remorse quite strongly. She expresses that to the probation service and in her letter. She is taken aback at her own behaviour. She entered a signed plea of guilt at the earliest opportunity.' Judge Dermot Sheehan noted from the victim impact statement that the injured garda 'wondered how it would end and whether he would survive. Every day he lives in pain — he wakes in pain, walks in pain and goes to bed in pain.'
The Journal
15-05-2025
- The Journal
Mother who pleaded guilty to cruelty towards her daughters given suspended sentence
A MOTHER WHO apologised for the cruel, volatile and neglectful environment in which her two young daughters were raised has avoided a jail sentence. The 41-year-old woman, who can't be named to protect the identity of her children, stayed with her violent partner even after he grabbed one of her young daughters by the throat and smashed her head on kitchen tiles. The children were malnourished and exposed to physical violence. The woman appeared before Cork Circuit Criminal Court for sentencing yesterday after she pleaded guilty to two counts of cruelty contrary to the Children's Act. Judge Dermot Sheehan said that the woman had betrayed her daughters by the manner in which they were raised. He said that she had put them in the path of 'unknown men who were regularly there.' After the children voluntarily left the home of their mother they had to be taught about personal hygiene as she had neglected even their most basic of needs. The woman has been given a two and a half year suspended sentence for her offending behaviour. She was without previous convictions. Meanwhile, defence counsel Elizabeth O'Connell, SC, said that her client was now 'sober and stable' and felt 'devastating shame' for what she had put her girls through in her toxic relationships with men. The two young women, who are in their early to late teens, previously gave victim impact statements to the court. The older girl said that she was terrified of one of her mother's partners as she saw him punch his own mother to the point of being near unconscious in the kitchen of their home. 'I watched him beat his own mother in my house. I watched him slam his fists into her face over and over until she was barely conscious. 'I still hear the sound of it, you know, the sound of pigs in a slaughterhouse, exactly like that, frantic, pained squealing and groans. It will never leave my mind. 'I still see the blood. I still remember feeling so small and helpless because I knew there was nothing that I could do to stop it. And then he turned his violence on me.' The girl said that the man had turned increasingly violent and she tried to protect her younger sister from him. 'The night he choked me to the ground. I didn't provoke him. I wasn't even fighting him. I was just trying to protect my little sister. That's what I always did, protect her and loved her because no one else would – I stepped between my sister and him when he had a violent outburst. 'Suddenly his hands were around my throat, squeezing in such a violent manner, I fell back, my head smashing on her kitchen tiles, squeezing, cutting off air. 'I remember the pressure, the dizziness, the moment when I thought, 'This is it, this is how I'm going to die.' 'And my mother still let him back in. She swore to me he was gone. She looked me in the eyes and promised but she chose him over us. 'It wasn't just [man's name]. It was everything. The way she made me feel like I was the problem, like I was the one ruining her life when all I ever wanted was to be loved.' The teenager said that mothers are supposed to protect, nurture and guide their children. Advertisement 'My mother did none of those things. She picked and chose when I deserved any crumb of that treatment. 'Instead, she was the reason I lived in constant fear. She was the reason I spent my entire childhood walking on eggshells, waiting for the next outburst or terrible thing to happen. 'She chose drugs over me, strange men over me and violence over me. She let her random hook ups and one-week relationships into the house like they had a right to be there, like I was just some background noise in her life. She never once thought about me. 'I don't think people understand what it's like to grow up in a house where you never feel safe. You don't know if the person who supposedly loves you will be kind one minute or cruel the next. 'My mother didn't just fail me. She betrayed me in ways no child should ever have to experience.' The teenager said she began to self harm at the age of eight arising out of what she and her sister were enduring at home. 'I can't be around strange men without feeling my body tense up. I flinch when people raise their voices. 'Just hearing people argue is enough to send me spiralling into a panic. It doesn't matter if I know I'm safe, my brain doesn't believe it. My brain is still stuck in that house, still waiting for the next explosion, still bracing for the next time someone will hurt me. 'You are not my mammy. That word belongs to someone who puts their child before themselves. 'You were never that for me. You are just my mother, the woman who gave birth to me and nothing more. Because being a mother isn't about blood. It's about what you do, how you show up. And you never did. 'And until the day comes when you do stop running from what you've done when you face the damage you caused and actually work to change, that's all you'll ever be to me. 'Not my mammy, not my family, just a stranger who hurt me more than anyone ever could.' Her younger sister had her victim impact statement read in to the record. She said that she learned early on that if her mother wasn't happy she wasn't 'allowed to be happy.' 'One day, she'd tell me how much she loved me, and the next day, she'd say things that were the complete opposite. Because of this, I've always had a hard time trusting people who are kind to me. 'Honestly, I don't talk about it much, but I believe my life could have been so much better if alcohol and other substances weren't brought into our home. 'I think my mom could have been a better mom, but no matter how much I begged, she had no intention of stopping. 'All I really want is for my mom to get help — the kind of real help she needs. I want her to rehabilitate and become the person I know she could've been.' The court had heard that the cruelty came to light in 2023 when the older teen rang the emergency services at 11pm one night to say that her mother was intoxicated, armed with a samurai sword and chasing a man around the house. She said that she and her younger sister were terrified. Judge Sheehan was informed that the girls were malnourished and suffering from poor personal hygiene when gardai arrived at the scene. He was also told that the girls had missed large amounts of school. The two daughters now live with relatives and are doing well. The woman pleaded guilty to two counts that she ill-treated the two girls in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to their health or seriously impact their well being on dates between 2021 and 2023. The charges relating to the older child refer to a period of three years when she was aged from about 12 to 15 and a shorter period in respect of the younger daughter.
