Two men involved in the "Pennies from Heaven" charity robbery of €132,000 worth of old coins have been jailed for six years each by Judge Desmond Hogan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Paul Kelly (22), of Greenfort Gardens, Clondalkin, Dublin, and David Dwyer (22), of Drumcairn Avenue, Tallaght, Dublin, who were both 19 at the time, pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary on December 6th, 2002, at Clancy Barracks, Islandbridge, Dublin, where the coins were being stored.
Before suspending the last two years of the sentence, Judge Hogan described the robbery as "a mean type of offence" even though, he said, that could not legally be regarded as an aggravating factor.
The judge said Kelly and Dwyer had participated in a robbery of money collected for people in need.
In July last year Judge Frank O'Donnell imposed various sentences on other youths, all with addresses in Clondalkin, who played roles in the robbery.
Derek Jennings, from Greenfort Gardens, was jailed for four years; James Collins, Harelawn Avenue, for two years, and Philip Orr, Rowlagh Gardens, received a two-year suspended sentence.
Det Garda David Ennis told prosecuting counsel Fergal Foley that masked men, one with a sawn-off shotgun, entered Clancy Barracks in the early hours of the morning when Michael Byrne and Deirdre Phelan were on duty as security guards.
They tied up Mr Byrne and Ms Phelan with cable wire and forced the guards to tell them where the keys to the coins were kept.
Det Garda Ennis also told Mr Foley that the group used a Mercedes van to ram the shed in which the coins were stored. They left the scene after loading the van with old Irish coins valued at £66,137 and sterling coins worth £30,724.
They left Mr Byrne and Ms Phelan tied up and warned them that should they alert gardaí the group would return to the scene.
Det Garda Ennis said that Mr Byrne and Ms Phelan managed to free themselves after more than an hour and arrived at Kilmainham Garda station to report the crime.
He said neither of them had returned to work, having suffered great psychological trauma as a result of their ordeal.
Apart from "a couple of thousand", most of the money that was taken was recovered by gardaí who mounted a surveillance operation at a container storage area in Walkinstown, after being tipped off by a confidential source.
Kelly's mother told Judge Hogan that her son had played Gaelic football for Dublin and had been an Irish boxing champion.
Several incidents, including the death of a friend and a violent father, had blighted his childhood and he had become addicted to cocaine while she was ill.
Mary Ellen Ring SC, for Dwyer, told Judge Hogan that her client was a valued member of the community who had been doing valuable work in the community.
He worked with young children in need and helped them develop through sports.
Judge Hogan said he took into consideration all the factors outlined on behalf of the two men and the fact that they had pleaded guilty and saved the State a lengthy and expensive trial.