At Ennis District Children's Court, the school boy - accompanied by his grandmother - appeared in connection with the unlawful taking possession of three cars and attempt to get into a fourth from Gort in south Galway and Scarriff in east Clare on Wednesday of this week.

The two men had been in the midst of a crime spree, robbing cars with a view to selling them on, when they stole the vehicle Ian McDonnell had brought to work on January 23rd, 2022.