Man jailed for smashing car and pub windows with hurley

A man who used a hurley to smash the windscreen of a rental vehicle and the front window of a Ballaghaderreen bar he’d been put out of earlier in the night has been jailed for 20 months.

Rhys Mooney (31), with an address in Marewood Grove, Ballymun, Dublin, appeared before Judge Kenneth Connolly at a recent sitting of Roscommon Circuit Court, where he was sentenced for two counts of criminal damage.

Mr Mooney had previously appeared before Ballaghaderreen District Court in February for the offences, which took place in August 2024, and was returned for trial to the Circuit Court after jurisdiction was refused.

A co-accused was dealt with at the District Court.

He pleaded guilty at the first opportunity to a charge of criminal damage to the rental car on August 4, 2024, and to the front window of the Hatch Bar in the early hours of August 5, 2024. Two charges of possession of an article were taken into consideration at the sentence hearing.

Garda Denise Casserly of Ballaghaderreen Garda Station gave evidence to Seán O’Quigley BL, prosecuting, of how, at 10.45pm on August 4, 2024, Gardaí received reports of two men with hurls damaging a car on Pound Street. When Gardaí attended the scene, they observed a grey Peugeot with the driver’s window smashed. The car had been rented by a man who was visiting home from Australia, the court heard.

At 4 a.m. on August 5, Gardaí again received a call about two men with hurls damaging the windows of the Hatch Bar. When they attended the scene, they observed all the windows of the bar smashed, and the footpath covered in glass.

The owner of the pub told Gardaí that, earlier in the night, he’d put two males out of the bar, with one of them stating they would return and “f**k the place up” and telling him he had brought it upon himself.

A member of the public had taken a picture of the males damaging the window. Gardaí obtained a warrant for an address in Ballaghaderreen and observed two hurleys at the property.

Two males, who were sleeping at the property, were arrested, one of whom was Rhys Mooney, who identified himself in the photo but denied damaging the vehicle or even being in the Hatch Bar. When shown video footage of the criminal damage, he said he’d been assaulted outside the bar on the night.

The damage caused to the windows of the bar totalled €700, with Herz providing a report of €885.43 worth of damage to the car window.

Mr Mooney, who was 29 years old and on bail at the time of the offence, has 48 previous convictions, 38 of which were committed on bail.

Gda Casserly opined that there was a backdrop of alcohol and drugs, “but that’s just me guessing”, she said, before outlining some of his previous convictions. Among them were convictions for theft, failure to appear, possession of drugs, public intoxication, possession of drugs for sale or supply, obstruction of a peace officer, hit and run, no insurance, violent behaviour at a Garda Station, threatening, insulting or abusive behaviour, unauthorised taking of a pedal cycle, and numerous other offences.

“I think we’ve probably heard enough,” said Judge Connolly, thanking the Garda.

“I’m shocked the damage to the Hatch Bar was only €700. It appears eight panes of glass are smashed,” he added, while looking at photographs that were handed in to the court.

Neasa O’Callaghan BL, on behalf of the defence, told the court that her client is originally from Ballymun and was staying with a friend at the time of the offences.

“There may have been an altercation earlier that evening and he found himself with a hurl in his hand, causing damage,” she said. “He wants to apologise for his behaviour. He entered a guilty plea on the first day before the Circuit Court.”

Mr Mooney has struggled with alcohol, she added. He left school after his Junior Cert and has never been employed. His family home is in Ballymun but he has been homeless for long periods and was on social welfare before he was remanded in custody.

Judge Connolly noted the criminal damage was “entirely unprovoked”, stating he takes “a very dim view of people’s property being attacked in such a fashion”.

“It also seems, in respect of the second matter, there was significant intent where one of the persons involved advised the owner they would return to ‘f**k the place up’ and implied the owner had brought it upon himself,” said Judge Connolly, “I can’t ignore that.” The level of damage was “relatively substantial” and none of the money has been repaid. He also has a number of significant previous convictions and was on bail at the time of the offences, but all previous sentences are now spent.

On each of the criminal damage charges, he set headline sentences of two years and four months, before looking at such mitigating factors as an early guilty plea, a history of alcohol and drug issues, difficult personal background and the fact he was of assistance to Gardaí. He proceeded to reduce both sentences to 20 months and directed that they be served concurrently. While he noted there “might be some merit” in suspending some part of the sentence, he had “little faith he will comply with conditions” as so many of his previous convictions were committed while on bail.

He imposed a sentence of 20 months in prison, backdated to October 13, 2025, when he first went into custody on these charges.

* Published under the Courts Reporting Scheme