Jailed for aggravated burglary on two Carmelite brothers

By Niamh O’Donoghue

A man has been given a seven-and-a-half-year sentence for an aggravated burglary on two Carmelite brothers at a Dublin retreat centre.

Stephen Byrne (44) of Paramount Hotel, Exchequer Street Upper, Temple Bar, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to one count of aggravated burglary and one count of threatening to kill or cause serious harm at the Avila Carmelite Centre, Bloomfield Avenue, Donnybrook, on April 12, 2024.

The court heard the brother was born in 1947 and it was 1.30am when he awoke to find Byrne standing over him with a scarf on his face and holding bolt cutters saying: “give me the money”.

There were nine residents living in the premises at the time.

Passing sentence today, Judge Orla Crowe said the incident must have been “utterly and totally terrifying” when the first injured party, who was “quite advanced in years”, woke up and found Byrne standing over him.

“It’s hard to imagine a more terrifying experience,” said Judge Crowe before handing down a seven-and-a-half-year sentence with the final 12 months suspended on strict conditions.

Another Carmelite brother, who the court heard was born in 1975, saw Byrne frantically rifling through drawers.

There was a struggle between them and the injured party tried to hold on to Byrne who said he would stab him.

They both fell down the stairs and Byrne then ran off.

The court heard €350 was taken in the incident.

Byrne, who was on bail at the time, was identified through fingerprints and was arrested and detained.

The court heard Byrne “plagued by addiction problems” and was homeless at the time of the incident.

He did not have a drug problem until he was 42 when his relationship broke down and he began drinking heavily and embarked on drug-taking.

The court heard he was remorseful, and he had written a letter of apology.

However, the judge said they were “very serious matters” and “have to be marked with very serious penalty”.

In mitigation she noted Byrne’s plea, that he was homeless at time, had a serious addiction and worked productively for a very long period of time.

The court heard the maximum sentence for aggravated burglary was life imprisonment.

Judge Crowe set a headline sentence of 10 years but considering mitigation, handed down seven-and-a-half-year sentence with the final 12 months suspended for a period of two years on strict conditions.

She backdated it to December 15, 2025, for time spent in custody.