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A DUBLIN TAXI-DRIVER whose cab was hijacked by two men in the early hours of the morning said he no longer feels safe working but is too old to change profession.
In a victim impact statement, Feargal MacEoin said he was subjected to an “horrific ordeal” when he decided to take one last fare coming off the M50 at 2:20am on May 8, 2014.
Mr MacEoin said he was “totally shaken and terrified” when two passengers, one armed with a knife, threatened to stab him after he drove them to Laurel Lodge in Castleknock, Dublin.
Andrew Byrne (29), with an address at Fortlawn Avenue, Clonsilla, was sentenced to three years in prison for unlawfully seizing Mr MacEoin’s car by force.
He had pleaded guilty to the offence, as well as to producing a knife and driving the car without insurance.
Passing sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Judge Martin Nolan said the taxi-driver’s peace of mind had been severely affected by the ordeal.
Co-accused Ross Cahill, from Portrane Road, Donabate, Co Dublin, was previously sentenced to five years in prison with the final two years suspended.
Garda Peter Foley told Diarmuid Collins BL, prosecuting, that the taxi driver was flagged down by two men and initially refused the fare as he wanted to go home.
However the men insisted that Mr MacEoin drive them to Castleknock and said they would pay him €5. On arrival at their destination, one of the men got out of the cab and walked around to Mr MacEoin’s side on the pretence of paying the fare.
Instead, the man opened the drivers’ door, grabbed the keys and encouraged the other passenger, who had produced a knife, to stab Mr MacEoin.
Radio signal
Mr MacEoin managed to send a distress signal to his base on the radio before getting out of the car. As the cab drove away, he saw that the men removed the taxi sign.
Gardaí later spotted the car in the Howth area and arrested Byrne and Cahill.
Mr MacEoin’s victim impact statement said that damage, costing over €3,000, was caused when the men ripped out the meter and discarded it.
Mr MacEoin said that ever since the attack, he finds every fare very stressful and “doesn’t know where to feel safe”.
“I’m totally uptight because I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said.
Byrne has 71 previous minor offences including assault, drugs offences, possession of knives and criminal damage.
Pieter Le Vert BL, defending, said Byrne comes from a decent family but became addicted to drugs and alcohol as a teenager. Byrne is now on a waiting list for Merchant’s Quay drug treatment centre and is working as a prison cleaner while in custody.
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71 convictions why the f**k is this vermin not in a ceil? What’s the solicitors defence? He needs a 72nd chance? If the likes of this lowlife broke into your house and you done him in good and proper, the Judge would throw the book at you. Would you get a 2nd chance? We need more Garda and new legislation with tougher laws.
Justice system is a f@&€gbg disgrace in this country. Building a new prison and introducing much tougher sentences should be high on the list.
Time to completely separate the driver from his fare. It’s the same in the UK and the US. It should be law to have a screen between the front and back of the vehicle
Only a matter of time before he takes someone’s life. Should be 15 years with no parole for any crime involving a weapon. Particularly knives. We need to stamp out knife crime now before it becomes commonplace and we see and hear about fatalities more and more often
Ireland is a banana republic. Nothing works as it should, yet the people seem to care more about the pub and the x factor. You should be ashamed of yourselves for allowing your country and society to be destroyed
You are a banana republic. Leave Ireland alone. Look at the state of the rest of the world while you are at it.
Legal system is in a pretty bad way and so too is the political sphere but someone, anyone, point out a country (besides them Nordic perfectionists ) that is perfect. None.
Ireland has its flaws but we are a unique nation. I’m sure there’s a few Syrian lads somewhere drinking pints saying ‘lads, isn’t the Syrian political system a f**kin’ joke at this stage’.
71 previous offences and he gets 3 years for for that horrible act?.Anyone with more than 30 convictions should just be put to sleep, permanently.
Sickens me when I see the usual nonsense about the guilty are waiting on a list to get treatment. The first thing these vermin do when they get caught is sign up for treatment knowing full well that judges look favourably upon it even though they have no intention of doing it.
71 previous convictions. Sentences to 3 years. Im on drugs your honour waiting to go to rehab your honour. Sorry about the knife your honour. Ah you’re alright young man sure the unfortunate taxi driver will be ok just do your time. Sure with good behaviour and all the other easy shite you will probably be home before me and you should have no bother getting your drugs in prison.
3 years is far too lenient for that abhorrent crime alone. 71 previous convictions just proves that he is completely remorseless and a continuous threat to society, what a ridiculous sentence.
71 previous convictions.
Well done justice system. You once again have displayed your flaws
A complete overhaul is required.
3 strikes and your in for 5 years and not a day shorter,
4 strikes and you get ten.
5 strikes gets you sterilised and life.
6 – 15 strikes lose a finger per strike.
For a supposedly right wing country we have have a very lenient sentencing policy.
Think about it Buckwheat, we have murderers and people who helped cover up rape running for Taoiseach. It just doesn’t suit any of those gombeens (or any of the complicit existing politicians) to properly punish crimes as the scrotes don’t want to be punished and bleeding heart liberals don’t condone harsh punishment.
Society is descending into hell and we as a people seem powerless to stop it.
With that previous he’d get 20 years in most US states. Sentencing here is a joke.
Dublin is like a scene from the Walking Dead these days. Junkies are everywhere pestering tourists. I think judges are told to give very light sentences to these rodents with 50 charges. There isn’t enough space in our prisons for all these “petty” criminals so they are given a free reign to carry on thieving and harrassing people. Build some prisons and lock up the 50 charge offenders with proper sentences, fat chance of that happening though!
A former district court judge actually said the same during a Newstalk interview today.
All banks, post offices, credit unions, and other store’s have panic buttons in-case of robbery’s… maybe Taxi’s/Cab’s should have some kind of panic button that is connect via Bluetooth or 3G/4G, it would auto call or send a text message in an emergency, if say someone pulls a knife or something.
Byyys – it seems they do as this man pressed a distress call button. Junkies are a plague and I for one am tired of hearing that we should pity them. Lock them up.
Punks. Hopefully the pendulum will begin to swing back the other way soon and anyone with 7 previous convictions will be digging and filling holes every day for a few years. That won’t be long sorting out their ‘problems’ and ‘issues’.
Sorry. That’s 70 convictions, not 7
Let’s go with 7 anyway, it’s still too much.
3 years?
3 decades would be more appropriate
3 years,?while that poor fella trying to earn a crust suffers a lifetime of fear and watching his back?scandalous justice,when bus drivers were being robbed with syringes they removed easy cash access and put proper security screening for them, that stopped the robberys overnight, taxi drivers deserve to be safe in the workplace the same as any other worker
I not so sure about being put to sleep permanently but 3yrs is not near enough
My thought are with Mr McEoin.
For the s***bag to be given only 3 yrs is an insult to Taxi drivers & anybody held up like this. Taxi driving as a profession holds the highest suicide rate categort in Ireland.
The S/Bag had 71 previous conviction inc. ASSAULT – decent people would expect him to be put away for life at this stage. He is not capable of living a civilised life & should be put away for life.
SO WHATS HIS 72ND OFFENCE GOING TO BE – MURDER ???
PUT HIM DOWN
Just waiting for the taxi haters to start posting.
Looks like you could be in for a long night chief.
Someone call Andrew a taxi
Cut their dole or enforce a weekly deduction from their wages for every conviction after the first 3 convictions on an increasing basis,
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