Two men who 'terrorised' Clare postmistress jailed

A judge has imposed cumulative prison terms of 13 years on two armed robbers who "terrorised" a postmistress during a "callous" robbery of a rural Co Clare post office in January of this year.

At Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Francis Comerford said the armed, premeditated and violent robbery of Carrigaholt Post Office on 21 January carried out by 39-year-old Michael McMahon, of Plunkett Drive in Kilkishen, and 39-year-old Darren Cassidy, of Lifford Mews, Lifford in Ennis, as callous in its planning and callous in its execution.

Judge Comerford said the men had carried out the robbery "out of desperation", but in their desperation had terrorised the "remarkably brave and resilient" postmistress, Maura McKiernan, during the robbery.

Judge Comerford said the robbers had chosen the "easy target" of the post office in a rural area of west Clare.

In the mid-afternoon on 21 January, McMahon and Cassidy entered the post office dressed in white overalls, black hoods and black gloves.

They were each armed with an iron bar and one of the two handed in a bag at the counter to be filled with money.

A third man, who was the getaway driver, 31-year-old Darragh Pender was waiting outside the post office in a black car as the pair carried out the robbery.

All three have pleaded guilty to the robbery of Ms McKiernan.

However, McMahon and Cassidy made away from the post office with only cash, coins and a cheque to the value of €8,944.63.

In sentencing, Judge Comerford imposed a prison term of seven years and two months on McMahon, suspending the final nine months resulting in a six-year and five-month jail term.

Judge Comerford imposed a five-year and 10-month prison term on Cassidy, suspending the final six months resulting in a jail term totalling five years and four months.

Judge Comerford backdated the jail terms to 23 January when the two were first remanded in custody.

'Screaming for help'

In evidence, Detective Garda Deirdre Collins said McMahon smashed the glass of the counter in the post office and demanded money.

She said he made threats while Cassidy entered the office area and struck Ms McKiernan with an iron bar.

Ms Collins said Cassidy then knocked Ms McKiernan to the ground.

She added Ms McKiernan managed to press the panic button.

In her statement to gardaí, Ms McKiernan said: "I was screaming for help.

"I told them I couldn't open the safe."

She added: "They ransacked the office and managed to find the key to open the safe."

Ms McKiernan said she was "absolutely terrified".

She told gardaí: "I thought I was going to die.

"I was screaming and there was no one there to help me."

She said: "I remember thinking this is how I am going to die."

Ms McKiernan said she thought she "was going to be murdered" when she heard one of the men say to his accomplice "take her outside the counter area and deal with her".

In her victim impact statement, which was personally delivered in court, Ms McKiernan said the robbers "proceeded to hit me on my leg and my back" with the metal bars.

She said: "I thought I was going to die right there on the floor and that's something that will stay with me forever.

"I want the court to understand that this was not something that ended when those two men left the post office.

"The effects continued long after that day, and I am still dealing with the physical and emotional consequences of what they did to me."

'Catastrophic decision'

After Ms McKeirnan raised the alarm, garda units across Co Clare were alerted and after a high speed chase, the three suspects were arrested by members of the Garda Armed Response Unit near Ennis at 3.45pm on the same day.

Pender, who is 31 years old and of Dun na hInse in Ennis, told gardaí that he was due to receive a €400 payment for his role in the robbery.

He said that he had hoped to get work as a barber at a business premises operated by McMahon on the Quin Road in Ennis.

Originally from Quilty in west Clare, Pender told gardaí that he did not know the details of what they were going to do and all he knew was that he was the driver.

A labourer by trade, Pender - who has no previous convictions - told gardaí that if he had known that someone was struck in the post office, he would have left there and then.

Judge Comerford adjourned sentencing for Pender and further remanded him on bail pending completion of a Probation Report on him.

McMahon and Cassidy both apologised to Ms McKiernan for their actions.

Judge Comerford said both men describe the crime they committed as "horrendous".

McMahon told his probation officer that the decision to rob the post office "was a catastrophic decision".

McMahon has 47 previous convictions, including one for a "similar robbery" at a Paddy Power betting outlet.

Cassidy has 32 previous convictions.

McMahon was a director of an auto repair business on the Quin Road in Ennis and has a history of working.

In sentencing, Judge Comerford said the offence is at the highest level of the mid-range of robbery offending.

Judge Comerford said neither McMahon or Cassidy were of good character as they both engaged in prior offending and neither cooperated with gardaí, despite being questioned a number of times.

Judge Comerford imposed a headline sentence of 115 months on McMahon and 100 months on Cassidy.

He said the interests of retribution, deterrence and marking of public censure had to play a strong role in the sentencing of the men.

Judge Comerford reduced the sentences on both due to the early guilty pleas and other mitigation.