Patient burgled Mater Hospital hours after being admitted

By Eimear Dodd

A man who took tools from the Mater Hospital in a burglary several hours after being admitted as a patient also took a bike from the DCU campus, a court has heard.

Stephen Whelan (43) of Coultry Road, Ballymun, Dublin 11, also trespassed twice at another Dublin hospital, caused criminal damage to a building at the Dublin City University campus and stole toiletries from a pharmacy in Glasnevin.

He pleaded guilty to eight charges including theft, trespass, criminal damage and burglary on various dates in 2025 and 2026.

Today, he was jailed for five years with the final 12 months suspended on strict conditions.

Evidence was heard that Whelan trespassed twice at the Sports Surgery Clinic, a private orthopaedic hospital, in Santry, on September 6 and October 17, 2025.

In both incidents, Whelan arrived on a bike, forced open a back door and entered the building, leaving shortly afterwards.

On March 31, 2026, Whelan went into a pharmacy on the Ballymun Road, Glasnevin, carrying a bag. He put €399 worth of toiletries into this bag, then left without paying.

When staff challenged him, Whelan told them something like he didn’t care because he was going back to prison, Rebecca Smith BL, prosecuting, told the court.

In a victim impact statement, the pharmacy’s owner said the incident left them anxious and upset and affected the viability of the small business.

Staff in the pharmacy were also impacted, and they must now be more vigilant of those entering the business, which adds extra pressure in a busy environment where they are trying to help sick people.

One month earlier, Whelan tried to pull open the doors at a building in DCU on February 8, 2026.

He didn’t manage to access the building, but caused €200 of damage to the doors.

He attempted to enter another building on the campus 10 minutes later before, managing to get into a storage room and leaving a short time later carrying a toolbox, worth €60.

Whelan also stole a bike from the DCU School of Nursing one year earlier in February 2025.

The injured party left her lilac bike, valued at €120, under a stairwell at the building. She told gardai that she hadn’t locked her bike. When she went to get it, the bike was gone, with another in its place.

In a separate incident, gardai received a report of intruders at Maxi Zoo, Omni Shopping Centre, after a man was spotted on CCTV in the early hours of October 26, 2025.

Whelan was spotted in a yard and arrested.

Inside the shop, gardai observed two damaged tills and a broken charity box. CCTV showed that Whelan had pulled open the building’s locked back door to gain access to the building.

No figure for the amount of damage caused was provided to the investigation.

Whelan was deemed by a doctor to be unfit for interview for six hours following his arrest due to drug intoxication.

The court was told that Whelan was charged in relation to this matter shortly afterwards, but this was withdrawn last January due to an administrative error.

Whelan was subsequently recharged last May.

Whelan carried out a burglary at the Mater Hospital on July 25, 2025, several hours after he had been admitted as a patient.

Whelan took €4,350 worth of tools, including a drill, a battery, and a grinder, from a basement storeroom being used by construction workers.

He was identified from hospital information and CCTV showed his movements through the building.

He left the hospital carrying two large black bags, then attempted to get a taxi before getting on a bus.

Gardai called to his home the next day, and Whelan told them he’d sold the tools.

David Perry BL, defending, put it to the investigating garda that Whelan was brought by ambulance to the hospital shortly after midnight that night following a drugs overdose.

The garda said he was unaware of this, but accepted that Whelan was taken to the hospital by ambulance.

It was further accepted that Whelan did not come into contact with anyone else after leaving the emergency department.

The garda told Mr Perry that Whelan was not formally interviewed until some time later as they didn’t have the CCTV footage.

Nothing of evidential value was obtained when Whelan was interviewed about any of these incidents, the court heard.

He has 121 previous convictions including burglary, robbery, theft and two drugs offences.

The court was told that Whelan was on bail for some District Court matters, which had been dealt with, and there is no requirement for a mandatory consecutive element to sentencing.

Mr Perry told the court his client had a “chaotic and difficult childhood”, started to use heroin at the age of 17, and that addiction is the root cause of his offending.

Whelan completed a rehabilitation programme six years ago and has been drug-free for periods of time.

He relapsed following some personal difficulties and is now stable on methadone while in custody.

A governor’s report outlined that Whelan is working as a cleaner and has enhanced status.

Mr Perry said his client would like supports to assist his rehabilitation and asked the court to consider ordering a probation report.

He noted his client carried out burglaries on business premises, that there was no confrontation or violence and in some of these incidents, nothing was taken.

Mr Perry also asked the court to take into account his client’s early guilty pleas and background.

Imposing sentence, Judge Elma Sheahan said the seriousness of the offending, its repetitive nature and the similarity to his other offending were among the aggravating factors.

Having considered the mitigation, she said it was appropriate that the court impose consecutive sentences due to the nature and volume of offending.

Judge Sheahan imposed sentences totalling five years and eight months.

The judge said she would reduce the overall sentence by eight months, to take account of the principle of proportionality, leaving Whelan with an effective sentence of five years.

The judge suspended the final 12 months of the sentence and directed Whelan to undergo 12 months post-release probation supervision, and that credit is to be given for any time served in custody exclusively on these matters.