A serial offender who carried out a spree of burglaries, ransacking office properties and stealing electronic goods, has been jailed for three and a half years.
Mark Byrne, 41, had more than 150 previous convictions when he broke into a number of unoccupied premises in Dublin city centre, sometimes spending hours inside the buildings and leaving them in a state of disarray, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard on Friday, reports Breaking News.
On two occasions he returned to a building he had previously entered, bringing an accomplice to steal further goods.
Patrick Higgins, 35, and Nikita Ring, 34, were also before the court for sentencing in connection with burglaries committed alongside Byrne, reports Breaking News.
Byrne, of North Circular Road, Dublin 7, pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary at premises on Parnell Square, Baggot Street Lower and Eden Quay on dates between February and July 2025, and has been in custody since.
Higgins, also of North Circular Road, Dublin 7, pleaded guilty to burglary in relation to the Parnell Square offence on 5 and 6 February, while Ring, of Poplar Row, Dublin 3, pleaded guilty to the Baggot Street offence on 12 July, reports Breaking News.
In relation to the first offence, Garda Karen O’Connell told Olan Callinan BL, prosecuting, that the offices of a Dublin language school were found to have been ransacked when the manager arrived on the morning of 6 February.
Papers had been strewn around the offices, food and drink from the canteen scattered everywhere, fridges and freezers left open for their contents to spoil, and a number of computer monitors and keyboards taken to the value of €14,700, reports Breaking News.
Byrne was seen on CCTV entering the building alone at 11.30pm before returning with Higgins at 4.30am, with both men staying until 6am before leaving with bags of stolen goods, with gardaà identifying both men from the footage and their fingerprints found on bottles in the offices.
Judge Nolan jailed Higgins for 21 months for this offence, with the court hearing from Luigi Rea BL, defending, that his client had serious addiction issues but is now drug-free and doing well in custody, reports Breaking News.
In the second incident, Garda Jordan Kennedy told the court that builders arriving at a partly occupied office on Baggot Street found Byrne and Ring had approached the building shortly beforehand, with Ring’s involvement limited to peering through the window while Byrne entered and left with stolen goods.
Ring was caught by the builders a short time later, found to be intoxicated and under the influence of cocaine, while Byrne was again identified from CCTV, reports Breaking News.
Ring has 96 previous convictions, and defence counsel said she had a childhood marked by extreme adversity and instability, with her adult life involving periods of homelessness and addiction, currently on a methadone programme in custody.
Judge Nolan sentenced Ring to two years with the final six months suspended for her role in the burglary, reports Breaking News.
In the third incident, which occurred just days after the first, Garda Emer Henry said Byrne entered a business suite at Eden Quay with an unidentified accomplice around 9.30pm on 13 February, leaving at 1.30am with seven bags of goods before returning with another man around 3am for a further four hours.
The offence came to light when cleaners arrived to find the offices ransacked, with blood on the floor, bleach poured around the premises, a large plant overturned and the message “Fuck you and your plant” written on a desk, reports Breaking News.
A number of TVs had been removed from the walls along with laptops and monitors, with the stolen property valued at €11,900 and the clean-up costing €1,500, with only one TV recovered.
The court heard Byrne has five convictions for burglary and 10 for aggravated burglary among his record, with John Moher BL, defending, saying his client had a difficult past with addiction issues and has been in custody since July 2025 apart from a period on bail to complete a rehabilitation programme, reports Breaking News.
Sentencing Byrne, Judge Nolan said he had committed a number of serious burglaries causing considerable damage to the businesses involved, set consecutive sentences totalling 51 months, suspended the final nine months on conditions and backdated the sentence to when he went into custody, reports Breaking News.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends
