Prison term for Dublin woman who vandalised cars in Mayo town
The case was heard before Castlebar District Court.
A Dublin woman who travelled to Ballinrobe in the early hours of the morning and smashed the windows of two parked cars has been jailed for six months.
Carolyn Murray, aged 43, Lettsfield Road, Clondalkin, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Castlebar District Court to two counts of criminal damage arising from an incident at Bog Road, Ballinrobe, on September 1, 2025.
Gda Sgt Fiona Farrell told the court that Murray was one of three co-accused who travelled from Dublin to Ballinrobe in a Volkswagen vehicle. At approximately 2.23am on September 1 last, she smashed the rear windscreen of a grey hatchback, causing €750 worth of damage, and then smashed the rear windscreen of a Ford Focus, causing a further €350 in damage.
She was disturbed by the injured party, and all three fled the scene. Murray was arrested at 5.50am and found to have petroleum fuel in her possession. The remaining co-accused are to come before the courts at a later date.
Defence solicitor Gary Mulchrone told Judge Vincent Deane that Murray had been in the grips of heroin and crack cocaine addiction at the time and had struck the wrong car. He said an owner of the vehicle had given chase to those involved, and two other women had fallen into a river during the incident.
Mulchrone told the court that Murray had no criminal convictions until the age of 35, but her life had fallen apart after she witnessed the murder of her mother's partner. She subsequently became addicted to heroin and crack cocaine and has accumulated 55 previous convictions, mainly drug and theft offences.
Murray is currently serving a prison sentence at the Dóchas Centre and has been in custody since March 5.
Mr Mulchrone said the defendant was anxious to have the matter finalised as she hoped to get temporary release for a family occasion.
He said she fully accepted her actions were "outrageous", but she is now on methadone, and is engaging with an addiction counsellor.
No victim impact statement was forthcoming.
Judge Deane said the offences were very serious, involving what he described as an attempt to intimidate, which had resulted in innocent people having their property damaged. He jailed the defendant for six months and backdated it to March 5.
- Published as part of the Courts Reporting Scheme.
