A Waterford man with 103 previous convictions has been sentenced to prison for burglary.
Danny O’Neill (32) of no fixed abode, appeared before Judge Kevin Staunton at Waterford District Court in September. He pleaded guilty to charges including two counts of burglary, contrary to Section 12 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act.
Sergeant Michael Hickey outlined that at 5.45am on 25 March 2026, Gardaí were called to Priory House Apartments in Waterford city. A man, identified as the accused, was observed breaking a window at the back of an apartment. Gardaí found him inside the premises on that date, with no property taken and only the window damaged, Sgt Hickey said.
In a separate incident, the Sergeant said Gardaí were called to Thomas Court apartments, Waterford city, on 17 June 2026. Residents reported seeing the accused entering an apartment through an open window. Sgt Hickey said the accused was found to have taken a mobile phone from a table in the property.
It was noted in court that he has 103 previous convictions, including theft, public order, criminal damage and assault matters.
Acting for the defendant, solicitor Ken Cunningham asked the court to treat his client’s guilty plea as ‘exceptionally early’, given that he was immediately produced to deal with the charges after directions in the case were indicated.
Mr. Cunningham explained that the accused initially went into custody in March of this year, before being released in May and then re-entering custody in June. The solicitor said that alcohol is a “complete crutch” for his client, which has resulted in time spent in custody.
Mr. Cunningham highlighted that there was “no suggestion of physicality or violence” in the ‘most serious’ count that the accused was charged with.
The solicitor added that his client has aspirations to be ‘productive’ after he is released from prison.
The accused wrote a letter of apology which conveyed the “shame and embarrassment” he has brought on himself and his family, Mr. Cunningham said. This was not read out but the solicitor provided a snippet, with the accused stating: “It’s time to cop on and turn over a new leaf.”
Judge Staunton said he has ‘sympathy’ for the accused, as his life has been ‘wrecked by addiction.’
However, the judge indicated he has “heard it all before”, and noted that a custodial sentence would be unavoidable for the accused due to his ‘appalling’ number of previous convictions.
The judge handed the accused a 10 month prison sentence for the burglary in June 2026, which was backdated to when he entered custody. The other charge was taken into consideration.
Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme Robyn Power
