Man spent 14 years on the run before committing road traffic offence

By Isabel Hayes

A man who went on the run 14 years ago got a passport under a different name in an effort to “break the cycle of criminal offending”, a court has heard.

Patrick Doran (35) lived abroad in several countries with his wife and family after he absconded from the State in 2012, but when he was pulled over in Sweden for a minor road traffic offence, he decided to apply for an Irish passport under a different name, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard on Friday.

Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, defending, said Doran, who has 163 previous convictions, wanted to “break the cycle of offending” and have a fresh start. Most of his convictions are for road traffic offences, but since he left the country he has amassed no further convictions, the court heard.

Doran, of Bawnlea Avenue, Tallaght, pleaded guilty to one count of providing false and misleading information when applying for a passport in Ireland on September 13, 2017.

A number of other people, including the man who supplied him with his personal details to use, have already been dealt with by the courts.

Doran was caught when gardaí started investigating his passport in connection with one of these men and was alerted that he was in New Zealand, where he moved to in January 2020.

He was arrested over there last year and agreed to be extradited back to Ireland. He flew back voluntarily in November last year and has been in custody since then, Detective Garda Padraic Jennings told Simon Matthews BL, prosecuting.

His wife and some of his four children were in court to support him.

In his plea of mitigation to the court, Mr Ó Lideadha said that Doran had two small children when he took a bench warrant in 2012. He said his client “did the wrong thing by making a run for it” but that he was in fear his life was going in the wrong trajectory, and he wanted to make a change.

Defence counsel said that since moving abroad, Doran has set up his own business and lived a productive life.

Sentencing Doran on Friday, Judge Martin Nolan said passports are the gold standard of ID and “to interfere with that system is a serious matter.” He noted that Doran procured the passport to avoid criminal responsibility.

He handed down a sentence of three years, which he backdated to when Doran went into custody last November.