Father and son jailed for spate of burglaries of rural homes and pubs

A County Roscommon man’s terrifying encounter with a Dublin burglary gang in Frenchpark left him in fear for his life and is an experience he says he will “never forget.” Another Roscommon family were robbed of €10,000 they had been saving for a family holiday after their home in Dysart was burgled.

Their traumatic experiences at the hands of the Connors’ gang in November 2024 were revealed at a sentence hearing at Sligo Circuit Criminal Court last week.

Edward ‘Ned’ Connors (51) of 2 Bridgeview, Cloverhill Road, Clondalkin, Dublin 2 was sentenced to nine years in prison for his role in directing a criminal organisation and a spate of burglaries in the West of Ireland while his son Larry Connors (30) of the same address was sentenced to six years in prison with the final year suspended.

Judge Kenneth Connolly described the “boldness” and “utterly casual execution” of the burglaries as “a scourge on rural communities.” The court heard that gardaí first began investigating the gang in the spring of 2023 after a spate of rural burglaries in the North West.

Detective Inspector Ray Mulderrig of Sligo Garda Station, assisted by Detective Inspector John Costello assembled a team and launched ‘Operation Black Cumann’ co-ordinated from Castlerea Garda Station.

Detective Garda Conor Jordan described the moment two ordinary citizens confronted the gang in County Roscommon:He said a blue BMW was suspected of being involved in a number of burglaries in Frenchpark since May 2024 and he said the local community would have been well aware of this. At 4.43 pm. on November 16th, 2024, a man and his nephew were travelling towards Frenchpark in their white Peugeot van when they were suddenly overtaken by a blue BMW being driven dangerously. They followed the BMW to Frenchpark. At Portahard, the BMW drove up a boreen and reversed into a gap. The driver stopped his van in front of them, blocking the BMW.

At this point two of the four occupants of the BMW got out and approached him shouting “Get the ***k out of the way.” They pulled balaclavas down over their faces and were carrying a long-handled axe with a red head and a long screwdriver. One of the men smashed his window and front bonnet with the red axe. The driver, Edward Connors Snr, remained in the car. In fear for his life, the motorist reversed his van and left the scene.

In his victim impact statement, the motorist said that when the men smashed his van window with the axe, he and his nephew “were in fear for our lives.” He said it was an experience he would “never forget” and was relieved when he heard the men were apprehended. He said it cost him €5,500 to repair his van. “We as a community are very grateful to the gardaí,” he said, adding that he hoped the court would recognise their trauma and sentence accordingly.

Thanks to his detailed description of both the BMW and its driver, Edward Connors Snr was identified, and a match was found with a damaged blue BMW located in a Kildare garage on November 30th, 2024.

Detective Garda John Duggan of Castlerea Garda Station then gave evidence of a burglary in Dysart about a fortnight later, on November 29th, 2024. Gardaí got a call that night from a resident to say his home in Dysart had been broken into while his family were out. His rear patio door was broken and a significant amount of cash taken - €10,020 – along with wireless headphones worth €180.

Garda Ray Grennan carried out a forensic examination and found a footwear print on the timber floor upstairs. The sole pattern matched a right Adidas shoe worn by Larry Connors on his arrest in Kildare a few hours later as the gang were fleeing back to Dublin.

Larry Connors later pleaded guilty to burglary at the Dysart home on November 29th, 2024.

In his victim impact statement read to the court, the householder said the actions of the Connors gang had greatly affected his life. He said he would never forget coming home to find his patio door smashed. “My sense of safety has been taken away from me,” he wrote, adding that he was left feeling “violated, anxious and constantly on edge.”

The self-employed man said he had since found it difficult to relax in his own home and was now conscious of his wife and family left at home whenever he was out. He said he and his wife had both been putting money aside for a family holiday. “People like Connors should not be allowed to get away with this,” he wrote, adding that he hoped the court would take into account the affect the burglary had on him and his family.

Father and son Edward and Larry Connors, along with Connors’ nephew Edward Connors Jnr (30) of Drumkerrin Park, Fetterkerin, Tallaght, Dublin 24 were caught with stolen jewellery and all their break-in tools when the Garda Emergency Response Unit swooped on them in rural Kildare on November 29th, 2024.

Inside their high-powered Volkswagen Polo, which had false number plates attached, gardaí found gloves, torches, a pry bar, pliers, a heavy-duty axe, screwdrivers, a signal interference device (to block nearby Garda radio communications), a telescopic ladder, a vehicle refuelling kit, surface disinfectant and two sets of vehicle registration plates (not matching the chassis number of the vehicle in which they were found).

All three men pleaded guilty to possessing the break-in tools and to handling a gold bracelet, a gold chain and a ring stolen from a home in Roslahan, Manulla, County Mayo and two sets of gold and diamond stud earrings stolen from a home in Meelick East, Tuam, on November 28th, 2024.

Edward Connors Snr also admitted to the burglary of McDermott’s Bar & Restaurant, Castlebaldwin, on April 22nd, 2023, and to the burglary of The Hideout Bar, Monard, County Tipperary, on August 9th, 2024.

The charge of damaging a Peugeot Partner van at Frenchpark on November 16th, 2024, was taken into consideration.

In sentencing Larry Connors Judge Connolly said an aggravating factor was that he had broken into a family home which has a special protection and sanctity in the constitution. “He violated that when he smashed his way through the patio door and stole €10,000 and headphones, none of which was recovered,” he said. A Probation Report assessed him as at high risk of re-offending. He sentenced Larry Connors to six years imprisonment with the final year suspended for two years post-release, backdated to November 29th, 2024.

Edward Connors Jnr (30) was remanded in custody to Longford Circuit Court on July 8th.

Judge Kenneth Connolly congratulated Det. Inspectors Mulderrig and Costelloe for their operation and said while he had often sat in such cases, rarely had he seen such a “sophisticated, extremely impressive investigation.” “I want to thank the gardaí. The level of investigation is something to be applauded and congratulated by a highly skilled and professional policy force,” he said.

*Published under the Court Reporting Scheme