An armed robber who said he led gardaí on a chase from Dublin to Westmeath because “he had nothing left to lose” has received a five year sentence with four suspended
Eugene Byrne (21) of Lohunda Down, Clonsilla, Dublin had pleaded guilty to attempted robbery at Clonsilla Post Office on December 16, 2013.
Byrne and his accomplice Ian Mansfield (24) fled the scene on a single motorbike and were chased as far as Mulligar, Co Westmeath.
Mansfield of Fortlawn Drive, Blanchardstown, Dublin was earlier spared jail with a suspended five year sentence.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Byrne was arrested in Trinidad and Tobago last year for trying to export cocaine. He was sentenced to two years hard labour, or a fine equivalent to about €4,000 which was paid after he spent six months in jail. He returned to Ireland in January.
Detective Seargent Paul Tallon said that witnesses described how Byrne was armed with a gun when he entered the post office. His accomplice had a hammer. Both men were wearing motorcycle helmets.
The post mistress’ mother saw the men and hit the panic button. The raid lasted about one minute before the men left and got on a motorcycle.
Det Sgt Tallon told James Dwyer BL, prosecuting, that he was on duty in an unmarked patrol car and responded to a alert about the raid. He pursued the raiders and the Air Support Unit were called in.
The lengthy pursuit down the N4 dual carriageway ended in Mullingar, Co Westmeath at a second roadblock set up by gardaí. The men had managed to evade capture at an earlier roadblock.
Det Sgt Tallon said that the post mistress’s mother has suffered nightmares ever since. She is now on edge all the time and finds herself being cautious with every customer.
After he was arrested, Byrne told Det Sgt Tallon that he panicked when gardaí began chasing him and decided to flee because he had “nothing left to lose”.
Luigi Rea BL, defending, told Judge Martin Nolan that Byrne was “out of kilter” at the time of the offence due to the death of his father a short time before. In addition to the conviction in Trinidad and Tobago, Byrne has one previous conviction in Ireland, for dangerous driving.
Judge Nolan noted that Byrne had a more serious involvement in the attempted post office raid that his co-accucsed, as he had carried the immitation firearm and had driven the motor bike.
The judge gave Byrne credit for the six months he had spent in the foreign jail when passing sentence.
GANGSTER’s moll Natasha McEnroe and her drug-dealing boyfriend, who has survived attempts on his life, were among four people arrested over two separate seizures of almost €1m worth of drugs in Dublin this week.
McEnroe is a former girlfriend of jailed gang boss Brian Rattigan.
Her current partner, convicted drug dealer Paul Geraghty, was previously targeted in hit attempts on the orders of Rattigan because of his relationship with McEnroe, but that dispute was settled.
Geraghty (30) and McEnroe (32), were arrested on Wednesday after gardai carried out drug raids in Ranelagh and discovered €350,000 in a bin outside a property.
The previous day gardai arrested another man and a woman linked to Geraghty and McEnroe after discovering heroin with an estimated value of €525,000.
McEnroe has had close links to some of Ireland’s major criminals over the years.
As well as relationships with Rattigan and Geraghty, she had very close friendships with well-known figures such as Mark ‘Guinea Pig’ Desmond (39) and Christopher ‘Git’ Zambra (39), who was shot dead in Dublin last year.
Natasha and Rattigan
A drugs trial involving Rattigan previously heard that McEnroe was at the centre of Rattigan’s crime operations. Rattigan contacted her by text message from prison over a €1m drugs haul in Crumlin in May 2008.
Gardai also raided her home and found notebooks which they considered to be drugs ‘tick lists’ as they had a list of names on them, but McEnroe was never charged in connection with the haul.
Geraghty is no stranger to the criminal world either.
In January 2011, he narrowly escaped with his life after a two-man hit team tried to kill him in his home in Ranelagh.
Rattigan, who is serving life for murder, flew into a rage when McEnroe told him of their relationship, but the feud came to an end after McEnroe made peace with the Rattigan family in 2013.
