A repeat offender with 198 previous convictions was rumbled in a Dublin church carrying a clothes hanger rigged with sticky tape and Blu Tack, with which he planned to fish out cash out of a poor box, a court has heard.
Mark Pierce (45), of Merchants Quay, Dublin 2, pleaded guilty at Dún Laoghaire District Court to possessing an article with the intention that it be used in the course of a theft, contrary to Section 15 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001.
He also admitted two Section 13 offences for failing to appear in court.
Garda Ava O’Connor told Judge Conor Fottrell that she attended Holy Cross Church on Main Street in Dundrum at around 5pm on July 3, 2025, after gardaí received an anonymous call.
Pierce was not caught taking money from the poor box, but was found at the church carrying a clothes hanger with sticky tape and blu tack attached to it.
The device was believed to have been intended for use in fishing money from the church poor box.
Pierce was also found with €5 in cash and a crack pipe, although no drugs were found in his possession.
There was some difficulty getting the case dealt with because Pierce did not have a solicitor.
Judge Fottrell strongly advised the defendant to wait until he had legal representation.
Pierce indicated that he would have liked a solicitor but did not have one available and wanted to get the case dealt with.
“The difficulty at the moment is that’s not going to happen”, Judge Fottrell said, referring to the lack of available lawyers.
The judge then looked to the other solicitors in court and asked if any officer was willing to assist Pierce, but no one came forward.
Pierce insisted he still wanted to go ahead and would be pleading guilty to all charges. After Garda O’Connor gave the facts of the case, Judge Fottrell asked Pierce if he wanted to say anything.
Pierce told Judge Fottrell: “I was on drugs at the time when I committed the offence and I apologise to the court.”
The court heard Pierce has 198 previous convictions, including 110 for theft and fraud, as well as criminal damage and public order offences.
Two bench warrants had also been issued after he failed to appear in court.
The court heard that Pierce has been in custody since August 2025 and is already serving a sentence with a release date of September 4, 2028.
Judge Fottrell imposed three months in prison, to run concurrently with Pierce’s current sentence, for the section 15 offence, with the two charges of failing to appear taken into consideration.
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