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A British tourist in her mid-sixties was dragged along the ground in central Dublin after a young man who wanted money for drugs targeted her, a court has heard.
Judge Orla Crowe heard how on the 23rd of August 2023, on Bachelor’s Quay, Dublin, the woman, who was walking back to her hotel, had her bag snatched by Rian Dunne (27) of Raheen Park, Ballyfermot.
Garda Patrick Hynes, stationed at Dublin Castle, aided Diarmuid Connolly BL, prosecuting, in outlining the events before the court.
Garda Hynes described how he was on mobile patrol when a call came in from O’Connell Street Garda Station relaying the crime, while he simultaneously spotted the accused running from a laneway while carrying items close to his chest before dropping a number of them.
As the information related through the Garda radio system continued to come through, the accused, whom Garda Hynes had stopped, said, “That was me”.
The woman sustained scratches on her arms and legs while being dragged along the ground and also injured her finger when a ring she was wearing became caught in the bag as Dunne pulled it from her.
The court heard that the bag itself was worth €400 while its contents included an iPhone worth over 1,000, £50 and €14, all of which were recovered by Garda Hynes.
The accused has 20 previous convictions, including five for possession of drugs, eight for public order offences, three for criminal damage, and one for road traffic offences.
Defending counsel Amy Deane BL argued that her client had made full admissions at the scene and said that his behaviour was the result of drug misuse.
He said he was “drinking, smoked rock, and had no money left”, and “that was how it started”.
When asked, “What drugs did you take?, he replied, “, Everything”, she said.
Dunne said that his actions were “horrible”, that he “wished it didn’t happen”, was “sorry” and “wanted to apologise” to the woman.
In May 2025, Dunne and a co-accused, who was previously dealt with, carried out a theft at a service station, stealing €81 worth of vapes and unsuccessfully demanding cash.
Seven minutes later, the pair tried to steal from another service station after kicking the security door and attempting to pull a screen down from the front of the till. This attempt was unsuccessful.
Later the same day, at approximately 2:30 pm, the duo stole €250 in cash and €450 worth of vapes from a Mace shop.
The court heard that Dunne had reached over the counter and grabbed the money while his partner demanded that staff open the tills.
The pair were identified after Gardaí traced a car belonging to the co-accused on CCTV.
Having heard the facts, JudgeCrowe adjourned sentencing to the 29th of July to allow for the completion of a psychological report.
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