Courts

Man who broke into five different Donegal churches jailed for year

Nathan Coughlan pleaded guilty to theft charges at hotels, supermarkets, service stations and churches

Nathan Coughlan sentenced to one year in prison for a range of theft charges in Co Donegal. Photograph: Colin Keegan/Collins
Stephen Maguire
Fri Aug 30 2024 - 14:06

A man who broke into five different churches as well as parochial houses and pastoral centres across Co Donegal has been jailed for a year.

Nathan Coughlan pleaded guilty to a range of theft charges at hotels, supermarkets, service stations and churches when he appeared at Letterkenny District Court.

The father-of-three, who has 123 previous convictions as far back as 2014, told gardaí when charged: “Sorry, I have a drug problem.”

The 28-year-old sat in court as Det Gda Cathal Feely read out a list of old and new charges against Coughlan going back as far as 2019.

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With an address at Silverhill, Bundoran, Co Donegal, Coughlan has been in custody for a month. He has been charged with theft and criminal damage at various churches and parochial houses across Donegal on a number of dates.

He is charged with burglary at St Mary’s Church in Bocan, Culdaff on June 18th, 2023 when he forced his way into the church sacristy and took keys to a safe before stealing €800 which was never recovered.

He is also charged with stealing €300 from donation boxes at Star of the Sea Church in Bundoran on June 14th, 2024 and again, the stolen money was never recovered.

Coughlan also admitted to entering the parish hall of St Mary’s Church in Stranorlar on July 13th this year and stole a key. The following day he entered the church and was captured on CCTV stealing a computer hard drive which was later thrown into the nearby river Finn but which was found by Detective Feely.

Coughlan was also charged with a range of offences at various petrol stations and shops across Donegal on a variety of dates.

On July 14th this year, he entered Lidl in Ballybofey and asked to use the staff toilets. However, he entered a staff room through secure doors and stole a variety of bank cards, driving licenses and other property including a LIDL uniform top.

He is also charged with the theft of a bank card from a person at Thorndale, Letterkenny on June 3rd, 2024 and then using the card to book into Dillon’s Hotel in Letterkenny and ran up a bill of €451.25 on accommodation, food and drink.

In a plea on behalf of his client, solicitor Rory O’Brien said Coughlan made admissions to all charges.

He said his client began drinking at an early age, graduating to cocaine and had become an addict.

The accused man apologised to his victims, saying his actions were as a result of “addiction”.

Judge Ciran Liddy sentenced Coughlan to 12 months in prison for the robbery at the Lidl store in Ballybofey on July 14th, 12 months in prison for the burglary at St Mary’s Church in Stranorlar and 12 months in prison for the burglary at St Mary’s Church in Bocan, Culdaff with all sentences to run concurrently.

He took all other charges into consideration and backdated the sentence to when Coughlan went into custody.