A man with a suspended 12-month sentence hanging over him for a burglary in 2022 will now have to serve part of that after he carried out two other burglaries during the period of suspension.
Thirty-nine-year-old Stephen Keenan of 22 St John鈥檚 Square, Cork, was given a three-year sentence for burglary, with the last year of that sentence suspended on the basis he would keep the peace and be of good behaviour.
However, Judge Helen Boyle was told by Sergeant Pat Russell the accused got into difficulties during the period of the suspension and committed another burglary.
Defence barrister Nikki O鈥橲ullivan said the accused is finding prison different now that he is 39 and that many of the other prisoners are around half his age.
Judge Boyle said to him: 鈥淵ou have not managed to maintain sobriety. Unless you address your drink problem you are going to spend a significant amount of further time in custody.
鈥淵ou present well, you have been fully co-operative with the Probation Service. I accept all of that. But the difficulty is that the original sentence was for burglary, and he committed another burglary.
鈥淚 will remove the suspension on five months of the original 12-month period that was suspended.鈥