The mother of a man involved in a Christmas day burglary made an emotional plea to him in court to turn his life around and to come out of prison a better man.
At Ennis District Court, Tina Whelan told her son, Jordan Whelan (21) of Dun na hInse, Ennis, "Your actions have destroyed our family".
Mr Whelan was before the court concerning seven theft and seven drug possession charges that he has pleaded guilty to.
One of the offences related to a 2015 Christmas Day burglary at the home of Ciaran Reidy (50).
Mr Reidy told the court that on returning from work on Christmas morning, he heard a loud bang, "And I knew it wasn't Santa Claus". He later found Christmas presents for his nieces and nephews had been unwrapped by Whelan and were ready for removal before Whelan fled the scene.
Directly addressing her son across the court, Ms Whelan said, “I want my son beside me and to make me proud and to get a good education. Instead, I have to go home to an eight-year-old girl, your sister, and tell her today where you are.”
She added: “Your actions have resulted in you being taken away from your family – the people in the world that love you the most, that would do everything for you and are extremely loyal to you.”
Judge Patrick Durcan said Ms Whelan showed "great honesty and compassion" in court. He said he would be giving Mr Whelan a very lengthy sentence but as soon as a place became free at detox facility in Dublin, Coolmine, he would be going there from prison.
The judge added, “I am confident that if you have half your mother’s decency that you will come out the other end.”
He remanded Mr Whelan in custody and adjourned sentencing to June 7th.
