A 49-YEAR-OLD woman who stole almost €100,000 from her local GAA club has been jailed for 12 months, despite selling the family home in an effort to raise compensation.
Patricia Carroll, Chapel Street, Kilfinane, Co Limerick, failed to raise enough money to repay the €98,316 she stole from Blackrock GAA Club when she worked as club treasurer.
The single mother of one pleaded guilty at Limerick Circuit Court last year to 19 charges arising out of the theft of €63,543 from the club’s Lotto draw.
Carroll also admitted forging cheques to the value of €34,773 during an 18-month period from October 2005 to March 2007.
Earlier this year, Judge Carroll Moran was told that Carroll was prepared to sell the house she was due to inherit from her mother in order to raise compensation for the club.
Last month the court heard the sale of the house had netted a profit of €58,985, but that there was still a deficit of almost €40,000 owed to the club.
Defence counsel Mark Nicholas said he did not expect his client, who is on social welfare and living in rented accommodation, to be able to come up with another lump sum. He said the economic climate had forced down the value of the house and said his client, who came from a highly respected family, was now seen as a “fraudster” in her community.
Before imposing sentence yesterday, Judge Moran described the amount of money stolen as “potentially catastrophic” for Blackrock GAA Club.
“This is an offence which goes to the very heart of the proper running of a social club in the community, and the gravity of offence must be reflected in the sentence passed,” said Judge Moran.
The judge said he accepted that Carroll had come up with a substantial sum of money by selling her inheritance.
However, he said the club was only being recompensed for 60 per cent of its loss.
The judge said the 49-year-old woman had been in a position of trust in her own community and had “betrayed that trust in a very serious way”. He took into account Carroll’s guilty plea and the fact that she had no previous convictions.
The court heard that Blackrock GAA Club had written letters expressing members’ disappointment that they had lost so much money, but that they did not wish for Carroll to go to jail.
Judge Moran said this was to the “huge credit” of the club’s officers and members, and described their attitude as “charitable and most commendable”.
The judge said Carroll would have been facing a “considerable prison sentence” had she not paid back any money to the club, and imposed a sentence of 12 months on all of the charges.
Judge Moran refused a request to suspend part of the sentence. “That’s as lenient as I can go,” the judge added.
Judge Moran granted an application to defer the start of the sentence until 5pm next Tuesday to allow Carroll time to get her affairs in order.
Family members surrounded the 49-year-old as she wept outside the courtroom after the sentence was imposed.