Burst into Carlow pub brandishing claw hammer and threatened to burn owners’ family home

A MAN who burst into a County Carlow pub brandishing a claw hammer and threatening to burn down the owners' family home was given a suspended prison sentence.

Martin Lyons (31) Springfield Park, Burrin Road, Carlow pleaded guilty to two counts arising from an incident at The Pint Depot on 16 March 2024 ‒ one count of threat to life and one of production of an article of intent, namely, a claw hammer. He entered the guilty plea in May and appeared before Carlow Circuit Court in late July via video link from Cloverhill Prison, where he is already serving a sentence.

Judge Mary Morrissey heard evidence from Detective Garda Maloney that Mr Lyons entered the premises “brandishing” the hammer and “aggressively seeking” a former employee of the pub, who, he claimed, owed him money. Approximately 15 customers were present at the time.

The pub’s owners, JJ Glendon and his wife, asked Mr Lyons to leave and he eventually did so “owing to the intervention of a number of customers,” the detective said.

As the owners followed him outside, Mr Lyons threatened to burn down their family home before leaving the scene. The couple declined to give a victim impact statement but told gardaí they were “left in fear that he would carry out the threat” and were “very distressed for a period of time”.

Mr Lyons was arrested on 29 September 2024, having been identified by CCTV footage, though he was already known to gardaí and had previously been barred from the pub. He made full admissions during the interview, telling gardaí he apologised for his actions when it was put to him that the woman had been left in fear.

Cross-examining the detective, defence barrister Jane McCudden BL noted that the incident lasted around 90 seconds and that her client had expressed remorse and apologised to the victims during his garda interview. Det Garda Maloney agreed that Mr Lyons had made no attempt to conceal his identity during the incident.

The court heard that Mr Lyons has 146 previous convictions, the majority (108) for road traffic offences, including six for drink-driving and seven for dangerous driving. He also has 14 convictions for possession of drugs, one for sale or supply of drugs, two for criminal damage, two for assault causing harm, one for entering a building without permission and one previous conviction for producing an article during the course of a dispute.

In mitigation, Ms McCudden said her client had “significant difficulties with intoxicants” that had been “the root cause of his offending” and these had “impaired his better judgement”. She said there had been no threat intended towards the other occupants of the pub, including the owners.

Mr Lyons, she said, had “expressed a desire to make positive changes in his life” and came from “a good law-abiding family”. He had been introduced to intoxicants through a peer group at a young age and has an ADHD diagnosis.

“He is still a young man and has plenty of road ahead to change his ways,” Ms McCudden said, adding that the probation services had recommended protective factors be put in place to prevent reoffending. She said Mr Lyons was “now sober” and “a different person,” with positive relationships both inside and outside prison.

While he remained at very high risk of reoffending, she said this was “not uncommon for someone with his background,” describing the probation report as favourable “notwithstanding the risk assessment”.

The court also heard that Mr Lyons has long-standing drug and alcohol issues, and has two children.

Delivering sentence, Judge Morrissey noted that Mr Lyons had left the pub only after the intervention of customers and that he had been on bail at the time of the offences. The threat to burn down the family home was “the primary concern of the court,” she said, adding that the court had to have regard to a dwelling house where innocent people lived and were “significantly distressed and in fear”.

“They were lucky there were customers in situ to assist,” Judge Morrissey said.

She imposed 48 months in custody on count one and 29 months on count two, to run concurrently, as they arose from the same period of offending. Twelve months of the sentence was suspended for two years, subject to conditions, including that Mr Lyons engage fully with probation and mental health services. Given the assessment that he remains at very high risk of reoffending within the next 12 months, a further probation report was ordered.

Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme