'Hundreds' of warrants outstanding for con man

A NEAR two-year long countrywide trawl by gardaí for con man Frankie Shanley ended with his arrest by the side of a road in March of this year, a court was told yesterday.

At Ennis Circuit Court yesterday, Det Garda Larry Bergin said there are “hundreds of warrants” outstanding for Shanley (35), of Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim, and Boyle, Co Roscommon.

Det Garda Bergin was addressing Judge Donagh McDonagh where the State was seeking to activate a suspended 21 months’ prison sentence imposed by Judge McDonagh at Clonmel Circuit Court.

Shanley was convicted of theft at the hearing in Clonmel court in November 2008.

His criminal exploits have featured on the RTÉ radio programme, Liveline, presented by Joe Duffy, on a number of occasions during the past decade. In 2006, Shanley phoned the programme while he was on the run from the authorities.

A list of his previous convictions shows Shanley has appeared in courts across the country over a 13-year period stretching from this year to 1998.

The records show Shanley has been charged with various offences at courts in Nenagh, Clifden, Killaloe, Ennis, Longford, Killarney, Bandon, Athy, Sligo, Cavan, Carrickmacross, Fermoy, Mallow, Bantry, Donegal, Tipperary, Castleblayney, Shannon, Dublin, Listowel, Kilkee, Clonakilty and Strokestown.

In court yesterday, Judge McDonagh asked why was the issue relating to Shanley not engaging with the Probation Service in 2009 only now coming before the courts. Det Garda Bergin said Shanley couldn’t be located by gardaí in 2009.

Judge McDonagh said he was not going to activate the sentence and was going to put in place a new system for Shanley to liaise with the Probation Services.

He told the court: “The alternative is to lock him up and quite frankly, I don’t think that is going to do him any good at all.” He adjourned the case to tomorrow so that all of the facts on Shanley can be put before the court.