By Sonya McLean
A man who has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder because he was a child victim of the Dublin bombings in the 1970s has been given a suspended sentence for burglary.
Thomas Thompson (59) entered the house in Dollymount, Dublin, through the unlocked back door. He had rung the doorbell minutes earlier and asked to speak to the female homeowner.
Garda Kathy Hannon told the court that the homeowner’s teenage son told him that she was asleep and unavailable.
The son was sitting in a back room when Thompson walked in the back door. A scuffle broke out between the pair as the teenager tried to get Thompson out of the house.
At one point, Thompson reached into his jacket pocket and told the son he had knife.
A weapon was never produced and the son figured out that there was no knife.
The woman of the house then came downstairs and Thompson called her a “rat”.
The court heard he had an issue with the woman as she had previously reported to the gardaí that Thompson and others were causing a disturbance near her home from regular drinking and playing loud music.
Thompson of Kincora Court, Clontarf, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to burglary on May 19, 2024.
He has 28 previous convictions, mostly for public order offences.
The homeowner reported the burglary to gardaí and as Thomspon was known to her, he was later arrested and taken in for questioning.
Thompson accepted that he had got into an altercation with the son and that he had suggested to the family that he had knife on him.
He told gardaí he didn’t have a knife and never intended to use one.
It was accepted that Thomspon has stopped hanging around the general area and has not caused any more trouble for the family.
Miriam Delahunt BL, defending, said her client was a victim of the Dublin bombings when he was seven years old.
She said this has since had a massive impact on his life and has led to a diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder.
A psychological report was handed into the court to confirm the diagnosis.
Counsel said her client has learned from the incident and wishes to make amends.
Judge Martin Nolan said Thompson wanted to confront the occupants of the house but his “confrontation was repelled”.
He said burglary of a home is a serious offence as it “disturbs the occupants’ peace of mind”.
Judge Nolan acknowledged Thompson’s plea of guilty and the trauma he has experienced during his lifetime.
He imposed a sentence of two years which he suspended in full on condition that Thompson not be within one kilometre of the victim’s home.