Man used beer barrel to break windows of Mayo pub
The defendant pleaded guilty at Castlebar District Court.
A Westport man has had a prison stay extended after pleading guilty to criminal damage at a local bar.
Thomas Collins, of St Mary’s Villa, Westport pleaded guilty at Castlebar District Court to the offence.
Gda Sgt Fiona Farrell told the court that at 11.23pm on January 16, 2026, Gardaí received a report of windows being smashed at Lofty's Bar in Westport. Collins was identified on CCTV picking up an empty beer barrel and using it to smash the windows. People were inside the premises at the time. The defendant has 48 previous convictions.
Solicitor Dermot Morahan told the court that Collins, aged 34, has been in a relationship for the past four years and has two children.
Mr Morahan said a comprehensive probation report had been prepared, which noted Collins was at high risk of reoffending and identified a clear link between substance use and his offending behaviour, a pattern known since his late teens. He said Collins had engaged with one-to-one addiction counselling and a community mental health team, and that things had been calm for a period until a recent relapse into alcohol misuse.
Judge Vincent Deane imposed a three-month sentence to run consecutively to a five-month term Collins received last month.
- Published as part of the Courts Reporting Scheme.
