By Declan Brennan
A serial burglar who used beer kegs and street furniture to smash into business premises in Dublin city centre has been jailed for four years.
Terry Ward (36) formerly of Castle Meadows, Trim, Co Meath pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to burglaries on July 20, 2024 and February 12, 2025.
On the earlier date he broke into a business on Baggot st., in Dublin 2 and took two laptops worth €3,000 in total.
He was arrested by gardaí the following night while trying to flog one of the laptops to a rickshaw driver.
Ward also broke into the unoccupied home of an elderly woman and took the woman’s earrings and some medication.
Judge Orla Crowe said that on the night of February 12, 2025, Ward carried out a spate of burglaries in the Dublin 2 area.
Garda Shane McConkey told the court that he used a beer keg to smash the window of the Hyde pub on Lennon st.
He caused €2,000 in damage by smashing the window of the nearby Duke pub using street fencing.
In one of the burglaries committed in a three hour period, he stole a tip jar containing €50 from a pub.
Ward has 176 previous convictions, including 22 for burglaries here and 17 for burglaries in the UK where he lived for a period.
He also has convictions for assault and possession of a knife.
Gda McConkey told Oisin Clarke BL, prosecuting, that when gardaí arrested Ward that night he was intoxicated.
He was on bail for the earlier offences when he carried out the six burglaries last February.
Judge Crowe imposed concurrent sentences of two years for the earlier offences and sentences of three years for the 2025 burglaries, to run consecutive.
She suspended the final year of this five year prison term on condition he keep the peace and be of good behaviour for two years.
She also ordered him to engage with the Probation Service for two years after his release, particularly with regard to addiction services.
Luigi Rea BL, defending, earlier outlined to the court his client’s struggle with poly drug use and mental health.
He asked the court to backdate the sentence to last February as Ward has been in custody since his arrest that night.
Judge Crowe agreed to this application. After hearing the sentence, Ward, a father of three, said he would appeal it.