“THE spirit is willing but the flesh is weak,” is how a judge described the situation of a woman she was jailing for 10 months on shoplifting charges.
Judge Patricia Harney made the comment while hearing pleas of guilty from Avril Curtin (40), of 13 Yeats Avenue, Kincora Park, to stealing from various stores.
Ms Curtin pleaded guilty to stealing on various dates from 2023 to 2025. She stole a total of €121 worth of goods from Aldi, €288.20 from Mr Price, €961 worth of gift sets from Boots, €400 in clothes from Lifestyle Sports in the Crescent Shopping Centre, and €179 worth of goods from TK Max.
Sergeant Aisling O’Neill told Limerick District Court that none of the goods were recovered and the various businesses are at a subsequent loss.
She told the court that Ms Curtin has 100 previous convictions including thefts, handling stolen goods, fraud, making off without paying, misuse of drugs, failure to appear, road traffic offences and public order offences.
Ms Curtin’s solicitor, Sarah Ryan, told Judge Harney that a report from the probation service was available to the court, outlining how the accused woman was making efforts and planning to address her addiction problems.
But Judge Harney said that “she is always about to address it (her addiction) just before we come to court. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”
Ms Curtin was sentenced to total of 40 weeks in jail. The judge set bail for an appeal at Ms Curtin’s own bond of €500 and a lodgement of €500.
– Court Reporting Scheme