By Claire Henry
A man attempted to rob three shops on the same Dublin street in under five minutes, a court has heard.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Michael O’Toole (41), formerly of Citi Hostel, Lower Gardiner Street, Dublin 1, pleaded guilty to three counts of attempted robbery at two Paddy Power premises and Spar, all located on Talbot Street on October 17, 2023.
He further pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property and theft at various locations in Dublin City on July 14, 2021.
The court heard that on October 17, 2023, a man who was later identified as O’Toole entered Paddy Powers located on Talbot Street at 3.33 pm. He approached the counter and put his hand under the Perspex and said, “Give me the money”.
The employee of Paddy Powers saw that O’Toole had an uncapped syringe in his hand and pressed the emergency alarm. O’Toole was described as “thrashing” at the Perspex and trying to grab money. He fled the shop, empty-handed.
Three minutes later at 3.36 pm, O’Toole entered a second Paddy Powers shop on the same street and again approached the counter and produced an uncapped syringe. The employees noted that he was wearing distinctive clothing along with one white and one black glove. He again demanded money but got none and fled the shop.
O’Toole then entered a Spar on Talbot Street at 3.37 pm and went to the counter. The owner of the shop, who was working on the coffee counter, was alerted that one of her staff members needed help and was in danger. The owner dropped what she was doing and went to help. O’Toole was again demanding money but fled with nothing. The shop owner followed O’Toole out of her shop, as did employees from Paddy Power.
Garda Shane Costello told Aideen Collard, BL, prosecuting, that from when O’Toole entered the first premises to when he was arrested was less than 20 minutes in total. O’Toole has 86 previous convictions, 12 of which are from the Circuit Court.
Gda Costello agreed with Keith Spencer BL, defending, that his client went from premises to premises, having no regard for being caught and was looking for money to buy drugs.
When asked whether O’Toole was cooperative with the gardai, the court heard that he provided a false name and continued to use it until gardai were in a position to correctly identify him.
Detective Garda Joanne Browne told Aideen Collard BL, prosecuting, of a separate incident where a couple woke in an Airbnb in Dublin City to find the sitting room window had been forced open. They then discovered that two iPads, a laptop and a bank card were missing. One of the injured parties saw on his phone that his bank card had been used to buy items on O’Connell Street and contacted the gardai.
Det Gda Browne told the court that gardai viewed CCTV footage from Lifestyle Sports, Footlocker and Circle K, all located in Dublin City Centre. A man later identified as O’Toole was seen on the CCTV footage wearing distinctive clothing and cycling a blue Apollo bicycle.
The injured parties contacted the gardai to tell them that their iPad had been switched on and could be located via the “Find My iPhone” app. Gardai went to the location and saw the blue Apollo bicycle and O’Toole wearing the same clothes seen on CCTV footage earlier. He was arrested, but refused to answer any questions, saying he was “unwilling to put his life in danger”.
A search warrant for O’Toole’s home was obtained, and both iPads and a laptop belonging to the injured parties were found. Items that O’Toole had purchased using their bank card were also discovered.
Det Gda Browne agreed with Mr Spencer that his client had a difficulty with drug addiction at the time of this offending
Mr Spencer handed in multiple clean urine analyses to the court on behalf of O’Toole, who is in custody. He told the court that his client is taking part in education and is working in prison.
Counsel said O’Toole had difficulties with his father growing up, but later in life, they reconnected. When his father passed away, O’Toole relapsed, and the offending on Talbot Street took place.
He said O’Toole began using hard-core drugs when he was aged 16 to 17 and has been in and out of prison for the last 20 years.
Judge Martina Baxter noted the number of injured parties involved in this offending and that O’Toole was under a bond when committing these crimes as aggravating features.
She said O’Toole has been given an opportunity and is making good progress while in custody. The judge said she wanted a probation report and additional urine analysis and adjourned the case for finalisation until December 17, 2026.