Rahoon woman gets suspended sentence for theft from 92 year old

Galway Bay fm newsroom – A Rahoon grandmother, who coerced a 92-year-old woman into parting with her life savings, avoided a two-year jail sentence by handing over compensation to the victim.
61-year-old Mary McDonagh, of 32 Droim Chaoin, Rahoon, first appeared before Galway Circuit Criminal Court last January.
She pleaded guilty to six sample charges of theft from the elderly woman who lives alone in Salthill, between April, 2012 and January, 2013.
Facts in the remaining twenty charges were admitted by McDonagh.
The amounts involved in the six charges before the court varied from €1,000 to €4,000.
The amounts stolen in the remaining charges varied from €300 to €4,000 with McDonagh persistenly returning to the elderly woman’s home, until all of the her life savings of 41 thousand euro, were gone.
McDonagh, who claims she gambled the money away, brought €350 compensation to court in January but that was viewed as an insult and she was given three weeks to come up with more money.
She brought a further €3,650 to court in mid-February but Judge Rory McCabe said that was a derisory figure given the nature of the offences.
He warned McDonagh she would go to prison for two years if she didn’t repay €10,000 – a sum the elderly victim’s family, who were present in court, thought appropriate.
The court heard that, out of fear, their mother borrowed €1500 from a neighbour to give to McDonagh when her Credit Union account was depleted in January last year
The alarm was raised when she later asked her son for €1500.
Garda Padraig Healy said the elderly woman was always afraid not to have money for McDonagh when she called.
She became anxious and was not sleeping well because of her.
He said he was waiting in the victim’s sitting room one day when McDonagh walked in demanding more money.
McDonagh brought a further €4,725 to court in May and the balance of €1,275 was handed into court last week, bringing the total repaid to the desired €10,000.
Judge McCabe imposed a two-year sentence on McDonagh for each charge which he suspended for two years.