Suspended sentences in Carlow District Court for possession of heroin
Pic: Michael O'Rourke.
A CARLOW man with 28 previous convictions has received two concurrent one-month suspended sentences after pleading guilty to possession of heroin and theft from a Carlow town shop.
John McCarthy (29) currently residing at De Paul Hostel, Riverdale, Haymarket, Carlow, appeared before Carlow District Court, represented by solicitor Joe Farrell, where guilty pleas were entered in relation to a section 3 drugs offence and a section 4 theft.
The court heard that on 13 August 2023 at 10pm, Garda Moulton was on mobile patrol in the car park of Riverdell apartments in Carlow when he noticed Mr McCarthy sitting on a wall and observed him discard something wrapped in silver paper. The substance was sent to Forensic Science Ireland for analysis and was found to be diamorphine (heroin) to the value of €70.
In a separate matter, the court heard that on 6 December 2025 at 4.21pm, a sportswatch and lighter fluid were reported stolen from Eurogiant in Carlow town. Mr McCarthy was identified on CCTV and subsequently arrested.
He has 28 previous convictions, including 11 for theft and four for drugs offences. His most recent conviction was in November 2024 at Kilkenny District Court, where he received a three-month prison sentence for a section 3 drugs offence. His most recent theft conviction was in July 2021, when he received a two-year sentence, suspended for four years, in relation to a robbery offence.
Judge Catherine Ryan enquired as to whether Mr McCarthy had any section 15 convictions – possession of drugs for sale or supply – and was told he had not.
In mitigation, Mr Farrell asked the court to give credit for the guilty plea and told Judge Ryan that his client was currently engaging with Ardú Carlow, a substance misuse service, and had secured accommodation through Focus Ireland.
“He’s very keen that he doesn’t get a custodial sentence so he can hang onto his accommodation,” Mr Farrell said, adding: “He does have a drug issue and is trying to work through that. This offence goes back to August 2023. He had other matters before court in recent months, begging offences, but they didn’t proceed.”
Mr Farrell asked the court to consider a suspended sentence on the condition that Mr McCarthy continue to engage with Ardú and the probation services. He presented letters to Judge Ryan, including one from Ardú and another from St Catherine’s Community Services, where Mr McCarthy had linked in with its Traveller programme.
“He seems to have done quite a bit of work here,” Mr Farrell said.
Judge Ryan questioned why the matter was only coming before the court so long after the 2023 offence, to which Sgt Gráinne McPartlin replied that the delay was most likely due to backlogs at Forensic Science Ireland.
“Diamorphine is a serious drug,” Judge Ryan remarked, adding that the court was obliged to treat it as such. Of the theft charge, she noted it was “on the lower end”, but observed that the two matters together “shed a certain light” and that “one may be reliant on the other”.
“It is concerning to the court that there are other drugs matters at play here and it is affecting your behaviour,” she said, imposing a one-month custodial sentence for the drugs offence and a concurrent one-month sentence for the theft, suspending both in their entirety, taking into account Mr McCarthy’s engagement with Ardú.
The judge placed Mr McCarthy under the supervision of the probation services for 12 months and ordered him to continue engaging with support services.
“I do wish you well and I hope that you’ve turned a corner on your drug habit,” Judge Ryan said, noting that she had imposed the suspended custodial sentences “in light of his previous record”.
