Mum jailed over €12,615 Brown Thomas jacket theft
A mother has been jailed for one year after she and four others stole designer jackets from Dublin’s Brown Thomas in the lead up to Christmas, 2024.
Cathriona Joyce (39) of St Bridget’s Lawn, Clonsilla, Dublin 15, pleaded guilty to theft, along with her daughter, Caitlin Joyce (22) also of St Bridget’s Lawn, Clonsilla, Dublin 15.
The court heard that on the 14th of December 2024, a group of three women and two men were loitering in the department store before the women left the premises with jackets they had put on under their own clothing. In all six jackets worth €12,615 were taken.
The men in the group walked out of the store with the jackets “under their arms”, Garda Shane Quinn of Pearse Street Garda Station told Judge Martin Nolan.
The group was identified on CCTV “loitering” in the store on the same date as the jackets went missing, before investigating officers obtained search warrants for the relevant addresses.
Patrick Jackson BL, prosecuting, told the court that three jackets were recovered after Gardaí conducted a search of two caravans, where one of the jackets, a Moncler, was recovered under the Christmas tree in one caravan, while the other two were found in the bedroom of Caitlin Joyce in the other.
The court heard that four days later, Cathriona Joyce went to Pearse Street station and handed over the remaining three jackets in a black plastic bag. All of the gaaments were in good condition and had the tags still attached, Mr Jackson said.
Rory Mulvaney BL, defending Ms Caitlin Joyce, argued that his client has no previous convictions, that she is working with a traveller development scheme, and was helping her mother care for her elderly grandmother at the time, who has since passed away.
“This is very valuable property she stole,” Judge Nolan said,
Turning to Gregory Murphy BL, defending Cathriona Joyce, Judge Nolan said, “Both are equally culpable”, but “You [the client] have received the benefit of suspended sentences from various courts for similar behaviour.”
The court heard that the elder Ms Joyce has a number of previous convictions for theft-related offences from both Ireland and the UK.
Pleading for leniency, Mr Murphy argued that his client is unemployed and on disability payments. He said she has health issues and suffers from anxiety and depression.
“This happened just before Christmas,” Mr Murphy agreed.
Having heard the facts, Judge Nolan said that Cathriona Joyce had been “involved in theft” and the possession of stolen property, but that she had cooperated with Gardaí after the search warrant was executed.
The court noted that a “substantial amount” of goods had been taken as part of “a pretty blatant crime” in which the group “walked into Brown Thomas, took the items and disappeared.”
He said that while the court acknowledged the elder Ms Joyce’s health conditions, they are “not in my view that serious” in view of sentencing.
Judge Nolan said that due to the accused’s history of offending, a “custodial sentence cannot be avoided”, adding, “I’m going to be as lenient as I can” before sentencing the accused to one year in prison.
Turning to Caitlin Joyce, the court noted her lack of previous convictions, that she is “quite young”, and “trying to improve herself” before imposing a sentence of one year, which was suspended on condition of good behaviour and six months of probation post-release.
