Man jailed for breaking into family home with hammer

By Sonya McLean

A man who broke into a family home in the middle of the night while armed with a lump hammer has been sentenced for a spate of offending that occurred over a couple of hours.

John Dunne (35) of Sandyhill Terrace, Ballymun, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to aggravated burglary, assault causing harm, trespass and criminal damage of nine separate vehicles on September 5, 2024.

Detective Garda John Pirollo told Fiona Pekaar BL, prosecuting, that the homeowner woke up around 4.30am to find Dunne leaning over him. He initially thought it was his eight-year-old daughter but jumped out of bed and grabbed Dunne when he realised it was an intruder.

The man pushed Dunne away but he swung a weapon at him striking his cheek. The man managed to grab the weapon off the burglar and threw it across the room before he forced him downstairs and pushed him outside.

Det Gda Pirollo said during the burglary Dunne threatened the man that he had a knife and he was going to stab him. When he ultimately got him outside Dunne again threatened him telling him, “I know where you live”.

The man’s daughter walked into the bedroom in the middle of her father confronting Dunne. His wife also walked in and she called the gardaí.

The gardaí later found a lump hammer in the corner of the man’s bedroom and were satisfied that Dunne had used this to smash a back door in order to gain access to the house.

A victim impact statement was read into the record by the homeowner.

He said his daughter walked into the bedroom in the middle of his confrontation with Dunne and heard him say he had a knife and he was going to stab him. He said Dunne also made reference to people being downstairs and was yelling for help from these people.

He said his daughter was “roaring crying” – she had no idea what was going on.

He said it was at this point he decided that it was time for Dunne to leave, and he told the burglar that he was leaving.

The man said he managed to get Dunne out the front door and even after that Dunne turned around and made an explicit threat that he would be back for him and that he knew where he lived.

The man said the physical consequences from being struck with a lump hammer were quick to be fixed but the family have been left hugely impacted in the wake of the burglary.

He said it was always his and his wife’s priority to raise their child in a safe environment but that was taken from them that night.

Since the burglary, his daughter has attended therapy, has missed school, has become less social, will not go to the bathroom alone, even during the day and has reverted back to using a soother.

He often considers the “what ifs” and said he was very fortunate that Dunne was not an inch closer when he swung out and hit him with the lump hammer.

“I hate to think of what could have happened…what if our daughter had woken up first,” he said.

He said he is constantly on edge, struggles to focus and is often sad, overwhelmed and angry.

“In the space of a few minutes he changed how we feel in our home forever,” the man concluded his statement.

Dunne took to the stand to offer an apology to the man and his wife who were in court. He said he was sorry for the hurt he has caused them and their daughter and promised they would never hear from him again.

Judge Orla Crowe said Dunne went on a rampage that night.

She praised the “extraordinary presence of mind and bravery” that the homeowner showed from being awoken in the manner he was and managing to get Dunne down the stairs and out of the house.

She said it was the terrible violation of a family home – while a small child was present and said their sense of safety in their home has been hugely impacted.

Judge Crowe also commended the man’s grace for accepting Dunne’s apology.

She said that the aggravated burglary warranted a headline sentence of 11 years before she imposed a term of eight years, having taken into account his plea of guilty and the fact that he comes from a difficult background.

Judge Crowe imposed concurrent sentences of four years for the other offences before suspending the final nine months of the eight-year term on strict conditions including that Dunne engage with the Probation Service for 18 months upon his release from prison.

Det Gda Pirollo said the man’s neighbour woke when he heard the burglary next door. He then noticed that a shed out his back garden had been broken into.

When gardaí later canvassed CCTV footage in the area, they found that Dunne had tried to break into two vehicles that were parked in the driveway of a home in another housing estate. He then tried to open the back doors of the house before he went into an outbuilding and stole a box.

Over the course of the night, Dunne broke into nine other vehicles by smashing car windows. He took a number of small items from the cars including phone chargers and glasses.

Det Gda Pirollo said Dunne was arrested on Balbutcher Lane, in Ballymun at 6.25am that morning. He was later interviewed but made no admissions.

Dunne has 43 previous convictions for offences including burglary, assault causing harm, assaulting a garda, criminal damage and various road traffic offences.

Det Gda Pirollo agreed with Shaun Smyth BL, defending, that his offending is linked to feeding his addiction which he has had since a young child.

Mr Smyth said his client had previously attended residential treatment, had secured stable accommodation and held down a job. He did not come to much garda attention between 2018 and 2024.

He said during this time Dunne was living with his partner of 19 years and their three children, with counsel saying that the woman was a “consistent positive force” in Dunne’s life.

The family then lost their rented home and Dunne fell back into addiction which led to him re-offending.

“He was not equipped to deal with it and had a disproportionate reaction,” Mr Smyth said referring to the loss of the family’s home.