Courts

Intruder who crashed through electric gates at TD’s home jailed for 18 months

Sinn Féin representative Martin Kenny’s wife ‘terrified’ by incident which compelled family to make ‘difficult decision to sell our family home’

Sinn Féin TD Martin Kenny: 'There has to be consequences for his outrageous behaviour.' Photograph: Dara MacDónaill/The Irish Times

Marese McDonagh
Thu Mar 7 2024 - 18:13

The wife of Sinn Féin TD Martin Kenny has told a court she was “paralysed with fear” on the night a van was driven through the electric gates of her family home while she slept alone in the house.

A 50-year-old Co Leitrim man was jailed for 18 months at Carrick on Shannon Circuit Court on Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage to metal gates, property of Helen Kenny, at Aghavas, Co Leitrim, on September 29th, 2022. Judge John Aylmer imposed a three-year sentence on Caillin Curran of Drumharkin, Fenagh, Co Leitrim but suspended 18 months of it.

Ms Kenny, in a victim impact statement, told the court that following the incident and after considerable discussion, the family made the “very difficult decision to sell our family home, a home which we had built when our children were small”.

She said when her youngest child had started college she had been nervous in the house on her own, but they had installed electric gates and a security camera following a previous unrelated incident.

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She awoke on the night to a loud bang and the sound of breaking glass and thought initially there had been a crash on the road. But when she opened a window she heard footsteps and realised they were inside the gate.

When Ms Kenny went to investigate she saw a van had crashed into the patio doors of a converted garage. A gate was “mangled” on the ground, the driver seemed disorientated and there was a strong smell of alcohol.

She called 999 as she was concerned for the man who “was barely conscious”. She checked his pulse which was faint. When the ambulance service arrived, they put an oxygen mask on the man “and he came around and became very abusive, angry and aggressive”. The fire brigade and gardaí also arrived.

Ms Kenny said the family assumed initially it was “an accident or a stupid drunken mistake” but the CCTV footage showed that the defendant had intentionally crashed through the gates. The camera showed him slowly driving past the house, returning a minute later, and then ramming into the gates at speed.

She later realised that the accused had narrowly missed the gable end of the house where she was sleeping which heightened her anxiety.

Explaining the impact, Ms Kenny said that after the incident when she was in the house, she left her coat on and put the CCTV on the television in the sitting room, checking it regularly.

She told the judge she had not wanted to leave her home but she couldn’t stay.

She became anxious about going out and even missed her daughter’s 21st birthday party.

Judge Aylmer was told the accused had drank 10 cans of beer and had smoked a joint of cannabis on the night. He had a row with a family member which upset him.

In interviews with gardaí he also said he felt aggrieved as he had gone to Deputy Kenny looking for help in relation to a forestry issue he was dealing with and felt the TD had not assisted him.

The judge, who was told the accused had been very remorseful and apologetic, disqualified him from driving for four years on a charge of dangerous driving. Curran who had no previous convictions was disqualified for two years and fined €300 for having no insurance; he was also fined €300 and disqualified for two years for failing to give a blood or urine sample on the night and was fined €50 for possession of cannabis.

A further charge of criminal damage to a garage was taken into consideration.

Speaking after the sentencing hearing Mr Kenny said the family was glad the matter was concluded and bore no ill-will towards the defendant. “We hope that he is able to turn his life around, but there has to be consequences for his outrageous behaviour”, added the Sligo-Leitrim TD.

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