Local man jailed for seven years for holding €1.19m worth of cocaine

by Fiona Ferguson

A Clara man who owed €10,000 due to his cocaine use ended up holding €1.19 million worth of the drug in order to repay his debt, a court has heard.

Sean O’Rourke (32) admitted sole responsibility for the 17kg of cocaine he had hidden in a shed but would not tell gardai who gave him the drugs as he feared for his family’s safety.

O’Rourke of Kilcoursey, Clara, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of the drugs for sale or supply on November 19, 2024. He has minor previous convictions for road traffic offences.

The offence comes with a presumptive mandatory minimum sentence of ten years imprisonment, which a judge can depart from in exceptional circumstances.

Passing sentence on Wednesday, Judge Elma Sheahan observed the drugs trade has a terrible and destructive effect across the country, not just in cities but into every part of rural life.

She said the nature and amount of the drug brought it into a serious category, but also considered O’Rourke’s early guilty plea, noting this was always of value as it saves court time.

She noted he had co-operated in relation to his own role and there were no trappings of wealth.

She said this was the first time O’Rourke would serve a significant custodial sentence and the impact of that had to be taken into consideration. She noted he had family support and a significant work history. She observed he had been brought up in a pro-social family.

She considered the contents of the probation report and that he had engaged fully with the Probation Service in the course of their assessment.

The court heard O’Rourke had provided clean urine samples in custody. The probation report before the court on Wednesday assessed him as being at medium risk of reoffending.

The judge noted that he said he had been holding the drugs to reduce a debt and the court’s view was the offending was for financial reward.

Judge Sheahan set a headline sentence of 11 years. She reduced this to eight and a half years after taking mitigation into account and suspended the final 18 months on conditions.

As part of the suspended portion of the sentence, he must remain under the supervision of the Probation Service for 18 months, and engage in victim awareness work, offending behaviour work and any drug counselling or other referrals deemed necessary to reduce the risk of reoffending.

Garda Josh Doran told Karl Moran BL, prosecuting, that the drugs were found following a garda search. O’Rourke told gardai in interview he was “suffering with a cocaine addiction” and agreed to hold the drug to reduce his debt. He said he was the only person who knew it was there.

He said he had picked it up following a phone call and did not know how much it was worth.

Gda Doran agreed with Paul Murray SC, defending, that there were no trappings of wealth.

Mr Murray asked the court to consider how O’Rourke had met the case, his very early guilty plea and the circumstances in which he came to be involved due to his own drug habit.

Counsel said O’Rourke had internalised the bereavement of his father and a close friend and rather than looking for normal ways to cope, he had developed a drug addiction.

He said O’Rourke was a teleporter driver and handed in a number of testimonials. He said O’Rourke’s two sisters were in court to support him.

Mr Murray said O’Rourke’s family was at a loss as to how matters had come to this. He said O’Rourke offered a sincere apology to society and to his immediate family for his offending behaviour.

Mr Murray had asked the court for a probation report to show the insight his client has developed into his offending. He said O’Rourke was determined to turn a corner in relation to what the future holds. Mr Murray asked the court to be as lenient as possible in the circumstances.