Charity box thief from Carlow gets six months
Carlow courthouse Photo: Michael O'Rourke
A CARLOW woman who pleaded guilty to ten counts of theft was sentenced to six months in prison by Judge Geraldine Carthy at a hearing of Carlow District Court on 12 February.
Tracy Doogue (23) of 15 Green Road, Carlow appeared via video link before Judge Carthy, who noted that the probation report for Ms Doogue “unfortunately outlines the tragic history of the defendant”. The author of the report identified factors such as peer association, addiction issues and unresolved trauma contributing to the likelihood of Ms Doogue reoffending.
“Anytime I have met Ms Doogue, she has been extremely polite and remorseful. I am structuring the sentence to assist Ms Doogue in going forward with her life,” said Judge Carthy.
Defence solicitor Joe Farrell said his client was willing to work with the services and find gainful employment.
Judge Carthy noted the amount of offending behaviour and the fact that charity boxes worth at least €550 were stolen on at least three occasions were aggravating factors in this case. She sentenced the defendant to six months in custody for the theft of a charity box to the value of €350 from a newsagents in Carlow town on 19 July 2025. This was backdated to when she entered custody at the end of January.
For her most recent offence of stealing €29.80 worth of goods from Munnelly’s service station on 7 January 2026, Judge Carthy sentenced Ms Doogue to ten months in custody, suspended for 24 months, to run concurrently with the other sentence. The suspension is on the condition that Ms Doogue attends probation services within 48 hours of her release, attend addiction counselling and employment services.
“I hope the sentence will shape her future,” noted Judge Carthy. She took the eight other theft offences into consideration.
