A JUDGE remarked that severe back pain had not stopped a woman from travelling far and wide to steal.
Norma O’Dwyer (46), of 106D Carrig Rua, Nenagh, County Tipperary, pleaded guilty to stealing more than €800 worth of goods in three separate thefts in Limerick.
Judge Patricia Harney, sitting in Limerick District Court, heard that all of the goods involved in the charges were recovered.
Her solicitor, Tom Kiely, told Limerick District Court that Ms O’Dwyer suffers from serious back pain.
Hearing the accused has 19 previous convictions, 16 of them for theft, Judge Harney noted that many of these were from different places around the county.
“Unfortunately there are numerous bench warrants (for her arrest for failing to appear in court),” the Judge told Mr Kiely.
“I’m sympathetic up to a point but her back pain didn’t seem to impede her travelling around the country stealing.”
Mr Kiely told the court that many of the recorded offences had preceded Ms O’Dwyer’s convictions.
The court heard that Ms O’Dwyer also has a suspended sentence hanging over her, imposed by the courts in Nenagh in April of this year.
Judge Harney noted that in not turning up for court, “she was probably asked to produce medical certificates and didn’t,” noting that “she’s 46 and has a history of theft”.
The judge imposed a total sentence of eight weeks in jail on the charges.
Judge Harney also directed that, while in custody, Ms O’Dwyer should receive “all appropriate medical treatment with particular reference to her back pain”.