Man jailed for garden hose theft

A man has been jailed for the theft of a garden water hose reel and a lighting control remote from an Athlone pub.

Martin Campbell (39), with an address in Iona Park, Athlone, appeared before Judge Bernadette Owens at a sitting of Athlone District Court last week.

He faced one charge of theft from Sean’s Bar, Athlone, as well as a charge of trespass on the same premises, both charges relating to August 7, 2025. He was also charged with stealing €100.93 worth of meat from Aldi, Athlone, on July 31, 2025.

Mr Campbell, who pleaded guilty to the charges, came before the court with 48 previous convictions, including a sentence of two years, which was imposed in March of this year and suspended for five years at Mullingar Circuit Court for charges of violent disorder and production of an article.

Tony McGlynn, defending, pointed out to the court that his client was pleading at an early stage. He said Mr Campbell has been homeless since the early summer, and was homeless at the time of these offences.

“He's been dealing with an addiction problem for most of his adult life,” said Mr McGlynn, adding that the accused has been “stable on methadone" for most of 2025.

Judge Owens gave Mr Campbell credit for pleading, but pointed out that the offences were committed while on bail, and while he was serving a suspended sentence.

On the theft of the garden hose reel and the lighting remote, she imposed a sentence of six months, which she backdated to September 22, when Mr Campbell went into custody. The trespass charge was taken into consideration as part of that sentence.

The charge of theft from Aldi was a “triggering offence”, she said, as he was serving a suspended sentence, and so she remanded him in custody to October 7, to appear before Mullingar Circuit Court.

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