Murderer gets 8yrs jail over attacks while out of prison
Thug beat up elderly priests & woman, 86
A MURDERER who attacked and imprisoned an elderly woman and two priests in their homes while on temporary release has been given an eight-year jail term.
Richard Kearney, 42, also briefly falsely imprisoned his former prison chaplain in her home bathroom during a spate of offending in March 2023.
Kearney was jailed for life in 2001 for the murder of a 72-year-old Marie Dillon who was found beaten to death in her Finglas home in 1998. He was granted temporary release after serving 21 years of his sentence.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court was told last March Kearney got in touch with a former prison chaplain and told her he was in need of cash.
She gave him €50, but he returned to her home on March 6 and took her two phones, before falsely imprisoning her in her downstairs toilet.
He released her after a short period of time, and gave back her phones.
He sent her a text later that night
saying he was “so sorry” for frightening her and that she had been nothing but good to him.
Nine days later, Kearney knocked on the door of an 86-year-old woman at an address in Clondalkin under the guise of selling a fire guard, before he pushed his way in and assaulted her.
Kearney ripped off her emergency panic button during the assault and threatened to kill her, before locking her in her house using her house keys and making off with a sum of cash.
Footage from the woman’s doorbell showed her pleading with Kearney not to lock her inside her home.
She was extremely shaken from the attack and had bruising to her hand, but did not require medical attention.
Kearney then made his way to The Presbytery, Bawnogue, Clondalkin, where he talked to a 74-year-old priest in his office for about 20 minutes before he suddenly attacked him, attempting to choke him with his sleeve.
When an 86-year-old priest came to help his colleague, he was knocked to the floor, breaking his hip and remains in rehabilitation.
The 74-year-old priest had a tooth knocked out and suffered facial injuries in the attack.
Kearney locked both priests in the office and made off with one phone and a sum of cash. They were able to phone a friend who then came to their aid.
Kearney, of Kilcronan Court, Clondalkin, pleaded guilty yesterday to four counts of false imprisonment and three counts of assault causing harm.
He also admitted two counts of robbery and one threat to kill at various locations in Dublin on March 6 and March 15 last year.
Sentencing Kearney, Judge Martin Nolan said that “for reasons known only to himself, he approached these people, entered their property, attacked them, terrified them and falsely imprisoned them”.
He said the evidence was somewhat similar to the facts of the murder for which Kearney was convicted in 2001.
Judge Nolan backdated the eight-year prison sentence to last March as Kearney has been back in custody since these offences, when his temporary release was revoked.