Three sentenced over spree of burglaries at Dublin offices
Isabel Hayes
A serial offender who engaged in a spree of burglaries, ransacking office properties and stealing electronic goods, has been jailed for three and a half years.
Mark Byrne (41) had more than 150 previous convictions when he burgled a number of unoccupied premises in Dublin city centre, sometimes spending hours in the buildings and leaving them in a state of disarray, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard on Friday.
On two occasions, he returned to the building he had trespassed in, bringing an accomplice with him to steal more goods, Judge Martin Nolan was told.
Patrick Higgins (35) and Nikita Ring (34) were also before the court for sentencing in relation to burglaries they committed with Byrne.
Byrne, of North Circular Road, Dublin 7, pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary that occurred at premises in Parnell Square, Baggot Street Lower and Eden Quay on dates between February and July 2025.
He has been in custody since then.
Higgins, also of North Circular Road, Dublin 7, pleaded guilty to burglary in relation to the Parnell Square offence that occurred between February 5th and 6th.
Ring, of Poplar Row, Dublin 3, pleaded guilty to the Baggot Street offence which occurred on July 12th.
In relation to the first offence, Garda Karen O'Connell told Olan Callinan BL, prosecuting, that the offices of a Dublin language school were found to have been ransacked when the manager opened up on the morning of February 6th.
The court heard there were papers strewn around the offices, food and drink from the canteen had been thrown everywhere, and fridges and freezers had been left open for their contents to spoil.
A number of computer monitors and keyboards had been taken to the value of €14,700.
Byrne was seen on CCTV footage entering the building for a period at 11.30pm on his own before he returned with Higgins at 4.30am.
They stayed until 6am before they were seen leaving with bags of stolen goods.
Gardai identified both men from the footage, and their fingerprints were found on bottles in the offices.
Judge Nolan jailed Higgins for 21 months for this offence. The court heard from Luigi Rea BL, defending, who said his client had serious addiction issues but is now clean from drugs and doing well in custody.
In the second incident, Garda Jordan Kennedy told the court that builders were arriving at a site of offices on Baggot Street that were still partly occupied when the owner became aware of intruders. The court heard Byrne and Ring approached the building shortly before the builders arrived.
Ring's involvement in the crime pertained to peering through the window while Byrne entered and left with some bags of stolen goods.
Ring was caught by the builders a few minutes later and was found to be intoxicated and high on cocaine. Byrne was again identified by the CCTV footage.
Ring has 96 previous convictions. Defence counsel said she had a childhood marked by extreme adversity and instability.
Her adult life has involved periods of homelessness and addiction. She is on a methadone programme in custody.
Judge Nolan sentenced Ring to two years' imprisonment with the final six months suspended for her role in the burglary.
In the third incident, which occurred just a few days after the first offence, Garda Emer Henry said Byrne entered a business suite in Eden Quay with an unidentified accomplice around 9.30pm on February 13th.
They left at 1.30am with seven shopping bags of goods before Byrne returned with another man around 3am for a further four hours.
The offence came to light when cleaners arrived to find the offices had been ransacked, with blood on the floor, toilet bleach poured around the place and a large plant upended with muck everywhere. Someone had written: “Fuck you and your plant” on a desk.
A number of TVs had been removed from the walls, along with laptops and monitors. The property stolen was worth €11,900, while the clean-up cost €1500. Only one TV was recovered.
The court heard that among his convictions, Byrne has five for burglary and 10 for aggravated burglary. John Moher BL, defending, said his client had a difficult past with addiction issues.
He has been in custody since July 2025, apart from when he was granted bail to complete a rehabilitation programme.
Sentencing Byrne, Judge Nolan said he had committed a number of serious burglaries, causing considerable damage to the businesses involved.
He set consecutive sentences totalling 51 months and suspended the final nine months on a number of conditions. He backdated the sentence to when he went into custody.
