Man jailed for watch robbery on busy Dublin street

By Eimear Dodd

A man who told gardai he robbed a watch as he was “under pressure” due to a debt has been jailed for three years.

John Byrne (28) of Hogan Place, Dublin 2 pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to robbery on Lord Edward Street, Dublin 2 on September 4, 2023.

He has 68 previous convictions including three for criminal damage, ten for theft, robbery, burglary and forgery.

The court heard the injured party had been socialising and was approached from behind by Byrne, who grabbed his wrist.

There was a scuffle, during which the injured party was pushed onto the road. Byrne managed to take his watch during the struggle and ran off down Lord Edward Street.

The man tried unsuccessfully to follow him, before contacting gardai. The watch was worth about €300, but was a family heirloom and of sentimental value.

He told gardai he felt frightened and hurt his knee when he was pulled to the ground. Byrne was identified from CCTV and his home searched later the following month.

After caution, he told gardai the watch was gone and he was under pressure as he owed money. He made further admissions when interviewed.

The court was told that Byrne is known to gardai as someone with addiction issues and a history of homelessness.

The investigating garda agreed with defence counsel that Byrne’s previous robbery conviction occurred when he was 18 and that his convictions over the last ten years have all been dealt with by the District Court.

Counsel outlined Byrne’s background, including that his parents had addiction issues and that he spent time in care as a child.

Byrne has been on remand in custody since his arrest, with bail to attend residential treatment if a bed became available.

While in custody, Byrne has sought to address his addiction, is sober and anxious to complete residential treatment. Counsel said it is hoped a bed will become available for him in the coming months and asked the court to structure a sentence to allow him to complete residential treatment.

Byrne is remorseful and regretful and very motivated to address his addiction, counsel said.

Judge Orla Crowe said this was a “very nasty” robbery of someone who had been socialising.

The judge said Byrne “robbed that man of his peace of mind, that is irreplaceable” and has had serious consequences for him.

She noted the watch was of “irreplaceable value” to the victim, who lost all sense of safety in the city and later left Dublin.

She said Byrne has a “broad spectrum of offending” and this was a “step in the wrong direction”, noting that he has had no convictions for indictable offences in the last ten years.

She said the court had to impose a custodial sentence, which would include a structure for Byrne’s release from custody.

Having considered the mitigation and Byrne’s personal circumstances, she imposed a four-year sentence backdated to when he went into custody. She suspended the final six months of the sentence on strict conditions.

The judge placed Byrne under the supervision of the Probation Services post-release, saying the agency would assist him to access drug treatment programmes. She said this would give him a chance to overcome his addiction and would hopefully benefit society by stopping him coming before the courts.