Man jailed for terrorising mother and son in Louth home

A man who terrorised a woman and her nine-year- old son in their home and held a knife to the mother’s throat until he saw an armed detective draw his gun outside the property, has been jailed for 11 years at Dundalk Circuit Court and banned from driving for 15 years.

James McDonagh (38) of Dominic Street, Newry and formerly of Dundalk, was sentenced last Friday for aggravated burglary, using a car without the consent of the owner, dangerous driving and driving without insurance at Gyles' Quay June 23rd last year.

James McDonagh was standing outside a BMW which was reported stolen in the Newry area in the early hours of that morning, when two gardai approached him at Gyles Quay car park that Sunday afternoon.

He got in and started the ignition, ignoring a plain clothes garda who told him to turn it off, and revved the engine before taking off at speed, when she told her uniformed colleague who was standing in front of him, to move out of the way.

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The defendant was driving so fast the car was bouncing on potholes.  The gardai activated the blue lights and siren on the patrol car to try and get McDonagh to stop and to alert the many pedestrians who were in the area.

A man pushing his child in a buggy had to lift her side as he approached, and James McDonagh struck a parked van, before he drove and mounted a footpath and crashed.

He scaled a 6 foot fence and ran into a bungalow carrying a large knife and a hammer, and held the knife to the occupant's throat, while she searched for her car key but he fled after seeing a detective through the window draw his firearm.

James McDonagh, who had 145 previous convictions north and south of the border, was arrested about 500 metres from the home. 

He claimed he wasn't going to hurt the woman and had the knife to scare her and said "I took too much cocaine - it blew the socks off me".

When the case was finalised last Friday, his Senior Counsel said he had instructions from his client to assure the woman not to be in any further fear of him and he is deeply sorry to all those affected by his actions on the day.

Judge Dara Hayes imposed sentences totalling 12 and a half years with the final 18 months suspended subject to strict conditions including that 15 months post release Probation Supervision and engage with addiction services and completing residential treatment and aftercare programmes.