Woman with 12 bench warrants refused bail
The judge said Ms Doogue had continued to 'evade justice' and declined to grant bail
A WOMAN with a history of failing to appear in court and evading gardaí was refused bail and remanded in custody after allegedly stealing items worth €29.80 from a Carlow shop.
Tracey Doogue from Green Road, Carlow appeared before Judge Geraldine Carthy at Carlow District Court in relation to an alleged theft on 9 January on Kilkenny Road, Carlow, where she allegedly left a shop without attempting to pay for items. The court heard that she was identified by gardaí from CCTV footage.
Objecting to bail, Garda Butler told the court that 23-year-old Ms Doogue had ten previous bench warrants issued against her – four from 2022, three from 2023 and three from 2025 – in addition to two new ones from 2026.
Three warrants were in relation to section 3 of the dating to 2021 and two warrants were in relation to four theft matters.
When solicitor Joe Farrell asked Garda Butler if his client co-operated, his response was that she “did tend to run from gardaí”.
In relation to the address Ms Doogue supplied, which is a condition of being granted bail, Mr Farrell asked Garda Butler if she was welcome there. Garda Butler said that on 24 December Ms Doogue was granted bail to that address, adding that she “wasn’t present on any of those occasions” that gardaí called to the address.
“Is she welcome there?” pressed Mr Farrell.
“I’m not aware. I just know she’s not staying there,” stated Garda Butler.
Asked if Ms Doogue had offered any reason as to why she wasn’t in court, Garda Butler replied in the negative.
“I’m not downplaying the incident; any section 4 thefts are a nuisance,” said Mr Farrell, admitting “to be fair, she had a number of opportunities where she has been given bail”.
In mitigation, he said that Ms Doogue has been living in Carlow for a long time and he “would envision that a daily sign-on at the garda station would be sufficient” if she were to be granted bail.
“I know she got bail on 24 December, but the court can call her to give evidence,” he added.
Judge Geraldine Carthy noted the new section 4 theft offence that caused the execution of two fresh bench warrants in 2026. She also noted that there were “quite a number of thefts” for which Ms Doogue was due in court in July 2025 and that she was “back before court again in October 2025 with no appearance”.
Judge Carthy said she had personally dealt with the granting of bail on Christmas Eve and there were a number of conditions, including residing at the address given. She said Ms Doogue had continued to “evade justice” and declined to grant bail, remanding her in custody until the next sitting of the district court.
