Clare man jailed for stealing church CCTV while 'off his face on ecstasy and cocaine'

A man who stole a CCTV system when he broke into a church has now been jailed for six months.

Nathan Coughlan, a native of Ennis, admitted to breaking into St Clare's Church in Manorhamilton, Co Leitrim on October 3, 2024.

Currently, he is already serving a two and a half year jail sentence which was imposed recently for a number of previous incidents. They include breaking into several churches and making bogus calls to the emergency services about bodies floating in the sea off the coast of Donegal

The father-of-three appeared at Letterkenny District Court by video link from Castlerea Prison and told the court he just wanted all matters dealt with.

At this point, Mr Coughlan currently has a list of more than 200 previous convictions.

Garda Sergeant Jim Collins told how Coughlan was seen on CCTV breaking into St Clare's Church.

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Damage to a stained glass window in the region of €3,000 was caused while a lock to the value of €25 was broken. The sacristy of the church was also entered by Mr Coughlan and goods to the value of €500 were removed.

The Clare native pleaded guilty to a charge of theft.

When interviewed by Gardai about the incident, Coughlan said it was him but he couldn't really tell as he was "off his face" on ecstasy and cocaine.

Asked by his solicitor, Mr Rory O'Brien, if he had anything to say to the court, the 28-year-old replied "I'm sorry for what I done, I just had an addiction."

Mr O'Brien said Judge Ciaran Liddy was aware of Coughlan's background and that his client wants things dealt with so he can take matters into his own hands and get help with his addictions.

Judge Liddy jailed Coughlan to six months in prison for the theft at the church property.

Coughlan thanked the Judge when the sentence was handed down.