Isabel Hayes. Three raiders who invaded a family home in the early morning, terrorising a couple in their 70s, their daughter, and a six-year-old child, have been jailed. Michael Royal 48 , Thomas Dwyer 24 , and Patrick Fitzgerald 48 were in the company of another unidentified man when they burst into the home in Monkstown, Co Dublin, tied up the man, dragged his wife, daughter, and grandchild out of their beds and started making demands, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard on Tuesday.
During the violent home invasion, for which no motive has ever been uncovered, the man was hit on the head with a metal bar and his daughter was dragged around by her hair when she tried to escape. The court heard one of the men made demands of the man relating to a bank he used to work for, but he had been retired for 20 years and was unable to provide any information, Detective Superintendent Brian O'Keeffe told the court.
The maximum sentence for both offences is life imprisonment. Royal has 50 previous convictions, including burglary, robbery, and serious drug offences. Dwyer has 25 previous convictions, including drugs and road traffic offences. Fitzgerald has 67 previous convictions including violent disorder, theft, and public order offences. All three men are in custody. He noted the leader of the incident has not been identified and has not been prosecuted to date as a result. He said the crime was very serious, involving false imprisonment and an assault on a man in his 70s.
Judge Nolan set a headline sentence of 10 and a half years. He noted Royal and Fitzgerald have a higher number of convictions and more serious convictions compared to Dwyer, who was 23 at the time of the offence. He handed down a sentence of seven and a half years to both Royal and Fitzgerald. Taking into account Dwyer's comparative youth and shorter conviction history, he jailed him for five and a half years. The court heard the family's ordeal started around 8.
When the homeowner opened the door, a man in a hi-vis vest pushed his way into the house, closely followed by three other men. The man who pushed his way in was described as the instigator of the incident. He has not been identified to date, Lisa Dempsey BL, prosecuting, said. The other three men were Royal, Dwyer and Fitzgerald. The man was made to sit down in his dining room and his hands were cable-tied in front of him.
