A mildly retarded man who robbed shops in an attempt to raise money to travel to the Special Olympics in the USA in 1998 has been given a three-year suspended sentence. Micheal Donoghue threatened staff with a knife before running out of the shops on each occasion. He told gardai he had to raise £1,000 to compete in the Special Olympics in Atlanta. The lease on his flat had also run out and he needed money to find a place to live.
Donoghue (37), of St Theresa's Gardens, Rialto, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to three attempted robberies and two burglaries on dates in 1998 and 1999.
Defence counsel Ms Marie Torrens said that Donoghue was now on a community employment scheme.
Judge Elizabeth Dunne said that Donoghue was a vulnerable person whose interests would not be served by a jail sentence. She bound him to the peace for three years and ordered that he remain on the employment scheme.