A man whose son was abducted by his partner and taken to America, went on a drug binge before breaking into a house on Christmas Eve and stealing childrens Christmas presents.
Joe Carraig was jailed for six months after pleading guilty to the burglary, which Judge Patrick Durcan described as an "appalling" crime.
In passing sentence, Judge Durcan said: “This is a very serious matter. It’s appalling for somebody’s house to be broken into but it’s especially appalling for him to enter somebody’s house on Christmas Eve. Childrens presents were taken, which puts this in a category of its own.”
Solicitor Darrach McCarth told Limerick District Court, Mr Carraig, of O'Curry Street, Limerick, was "extremely sorry" for what he did.
“He lived in the US for about a decade. He had a child with his partner and they eventually returned home (Ireland) with the child. His partner abducted the child and returned to the United States,” while family law proceedings had not concluded.
“Mr Carraig fell to pieces after that,” his solicitor added.
“He went on a drugs binge. He had no access to his child, and he lost his father shortly afterwards. He has been in custody ever since December 31st, 2012.”
“He wishes to enter a plea of guilty and the apology to the family concerned is unconditional. He regrets what he did.”
The court heard there was no one in the house on Christmas Eve when the burglary occurred.
Carraig (32) was also fined €250 and disqualified from driving for two years for driving without insurance on a separate date.