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Court rejects claim by man caught with guns and €1.7m cocaine that sentence too 'difficult'

The Court of Appeal has rejected an argument by a drug dealer caught with €1.7 million of cocaine and three firearms in his home that ten years in prison is going to be too difficult for him due to his psychological issues. Saying that it was clear the sentencing judge had been aware of the 'considerable personal circumstances' of Paul Bourke (57), Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy ruled that the court was rejecting the appellant's appeal against his ten-year sentence. Advertisement Bourke pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to eight counts relating to the possession of cocaine for sale or supply, the possession of €18,100 in cash, which was the proceeds of crime and the possession of three Glock 17 pistols, all on November 3rd, 2023. The offences took place in various locations, including Bourke's home address at Tullyvolty, Johnstown, Co Kilkenny, at an address at Ballygall Parade in Finglas, Co. Dublin, and addresses in Tallaght, Co. Dublin and Ashbourne, Co Meath. The sentencing court heard that when Bourke was arrested in Finglas, his van was found to contain €18,100 of cash. His Kilkenny home was then searched, where cocaine with a street value of €1,776,207 was discovered in an outhouse on the property. Three Glock 17 semi-automatic pistols were also discovered in a box, along with cannabis amounting to €19,000, the court heard. Drug paraphernalia, including a pressing machine, was also found at the scene. Advertisement When interviewed, Bourke made admissions to gardaí, admitting that he was distributing drugs around the country after an 'opportunity' had arisen about a year previously. He said he was under a certain amount of pressure from these persons. He did not give the names of anyone involved. Judge Martin Nolan described Bourke as a 'wholesaler and distributor' to people who were selling drugs, as he sentenced Bourke to ten years in prison last December. Appealing this sentence on Wednesday, defence counsel Eilis Brennan SC said that given the "extremely difficult psychological effects" of incarceration on the appellant, 'a little bit more latitude should be given' to mitigation in the case. Mr Justice John Edwards, presiding, said there could be a sad background to the appellant, but firearms were involved and a massive amount of drugs. Advertisement 'He was a distributor, and the garda search revealed all the paraphernalia of drug dealing, such as vacuum packaging machinery, tick lists, and weighing scales, and three usable firearms,' said Mr Justice Edwards, Ms Brennan said that someone offered the appellant the opportunity to be involved in this activity, but this then became a threat to become involved. Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy noted that the accused had three weapons 'which are only used to murder people', to which Ms Brennan replied that the guns were stored in a box, with no suggestion that the appellant was using them. She went on to say that the appellant was acting under duress, and he is going to find prison more difficult due to "his diagnosis". To this, Mr Justice McCarthy noted that it was not really a diagnosis, merely a reference in a psychological report that the appellant has 'issues', with no indication of medication or treatment. Advertisement 'He's socially normative. A lot of people behind that may have issues, but they don't go around having €1.7million of cocaine,' said Mr Justice McCarthy. Ms Brennan asked the court to suspend some part of the sentence to give the appellant some light at the end of the tunnel. Counsel for the State, Carol Doherty BL, said the sentencing judge had conducted a very comprehensive balancing act, with the reduction by a third of the headline sentence of 15 years to 10 years being very generous. Remarking that in all the circumstances, the offending could have resulted in consecutive sentences, Ms Doherty said the sentence imposed was very fair. Advertisement In delivering the court's judgement, Mr Justice McCarthy said that the gravity of the offending was aggravated by the quantity of drugs involved, the possession of firearms, and the appellant's protracted involvement in an illicit enterprise, which involved a small factory-type operation and the distribution of cocaine. He said the appellant went well beyond being a low-level operative, as he had been remunerated to 'a not insufficient extent'. Saying that it was clear the sentencing judge had been aware of the appellant's considerable personal circumstances when the headline sentence was discounted by one third, Mr Justice McCarthy ruled that the court could not see how the decision to give such a discount could amount to an error. In summary, the court refused the appeal.