Stole building tools from house in Castletown, Carlow Court heard
An Garda Siochána
A 29-YEAR-old man was sentenced to one month in prison for stealing building tools and supplies from a house undergoing renovation in Castletown, Carlow at a hearing of Carlow District Court recently.
Andy Cash, 2 Ardristan Heights, Tullow was observed standing on a grass embankment leading up to a timber fence marking the house’s boundary with looted property at his feet on 8 May 2025 by Garda Walter Hovenden, who was on patrol in the area at around 8.30pm that evening.
He immediately recognised the man to be Mr Cash and, after cautioning him, asked what he was doing with the property outside the fence. The property included two Dewalt battery chargers, a Dewalt battery, various extension leads and an unused roll of lead for roofing. The total value of the items was estimated at €750.
Mr Cash told Garda Hovenden that it was scrap he had retrieved with permission from the building contractor from a skip inside the locked fence. The garda phoned the contractor who said the property described was his. He said it would have been stored inside the house when he left and secured the padlocked fencing at 5pm.
Mr Cash then offered a new explanation and said he had come across property at the fence.
At 8.37pm, the contractor arrived on the scene and identified the items as belonging to him. Three minutes later, the garda arrested Mr Cash on suspicion of committing burglary contrary to section 12 of the and conveyed him to Carlow Garda Station. Mr Cash did not make any admissions during interview.
The contractor in his evidence to the court said he was responsible for the house and property during the seven-month renovation and had not given permission to anyone to enter the site that day, not even the owners, nor to take property from inside the house.
The house was accessible as windows or doors had not been installed.
“The items in the ditch were definitely taken from the site. I only got the lead earlier that day,” he testified.
Solicitor Joe Farrell, representing Mr Cash, unsuccessfully tried to have the case dismissed because there was no direct evidence that the accused had entered the building and because “the court is blind as to the consent of the owner”.
Judge Catherine Ryan considered it reasonable to assume that someone had entered the building for purposes of removing the items and said it was not “entirely necessary” to have the homeowners give evidence as the contractor was, in effect, in control of the premises. She convicted Mr Cash of burglary.
Regarding the sentence, Insp Conor Nolan said Mr Cash had 61 previous convictions, two of which were for burglary and four of which were for theft. He had spent six months in prison in 2022 for one of the burglary offences.
Mr Farrell, offering mitigating factors, said his client had a brain injury and certain mental health difficulties as a result. “He tells me he would be involved in the scrap business.” Mr Farrell pointed out that he did not give chase or try to avoid gardaí when caught. He is currently on remand for other matters.
Judge Ryan conceded: “He did in some way co-operate with the investigation to a certain extent. The court will have to impose a custodial sentence in relation to this matter. Obviously, being in custody will not be of assistance to someone with a brain injury.”
She sentenced Mr Cash to one month in prison, backdated to 3 March when he entered custody.
