A man with 189 previous convictions has been jailed for thefts in Donegal.
Joe McDonagh stole purses from hotels in Donegal Town and Ballyshannon on the same day while he also made off with valuable clothing from McElhinney’s in Ballybofey without paying.
McDonagh, a 38-year-old whose address was given as Castlerea Prison, County Roscommon, was brought before Ballyshannon District Court on Friday.
McDonagh is currently serving a sentence and he told Judge Monika Leech that he feels he is ‘better off’ when behind bars.
Inspector Rosaleen Logue told the court that McDonagh entered the Abbey Hotel in Donegal Town on February 16, 2024 and stole a purse containing a Post Office card, a Revolut card and 300 in cash.
McDonagh then took a taxi to Ballyshannon and used the Post Office card to pay 40. In Ballyshannon, McDonagh used the same card for two transactions, of 50 and 29.
He subsequently attempted to use the Revolut card, but it declined.
On the same day, McDonagh entered Dorrian’s Hotel and stole another purse. While in Dorrian’s Hotel, McDonagh discarded the other purse in a cistern in the male toilets.
He disposed of the second stolen purse in a cistern at Ballyshannon Bus Station and retained a debit card and credit card.
McDonagh attempted to use one of the cards at Slevin’s Department Store, but the card declined.
The court heard that McDonagh has 176 previous convictions in the Republic of Ireland and 13 convictions from other jurisdictions.
Over 50 of McDonagh’s previous convictions are for theft-related offences, the court was told.
Mr Frank Murphy, representing McDonagh, said his client has an addiction to both whiskey and cocaine.
“He has yet to overcome those addictions and can only overcome them when he is in prison,” Mr Murphy said. “He fuels the addiction by taking purses and belongings from others.”
McDonagh interjected and told Judge Leech: “I am better off in jail.”
Judge Leech said she would deal with the matter by way of a global sentence as the offences were committed within a short space of time on the same day.
Judge Leech imposed a sentence of three months in prison on McDonagh.
McDonagh also appeared at Letterkenny District Court before Judge Ciaran Liddy on Thursday.
There, he faced a charge of stealing €159.93 worth of clothes from McElhinney’s in Ballybofey on March 15, 2024.
Sergeant Jim Collins told the court that McDonagh passed all points of payment and left the store.
Detectives caught up with McDonagh and the goods were returned and resalable. The accused made a full admission and was co-operative with gardai.
Mr Rory O’Brien said McDonagh has struggled with ‘various addictions’. “He knows himself it’s wrong, but he does it to feed the habit,” Mr O’Brien said. “He is approaching 40 and he still has time to demonstrate to the court and to society that he can change.”
Judge Liddy imposed a sentence of one-month imprisonment, backdated to when McDonagh went into custody.