Drug addict who went on robbery spree in Cork city jailed

An armed robber who has been jailed for five years for a crime spree in Cork city was literally brushed off in his attempts to carry out a knifepoint robbery at a café on Shandon St.

Martin Doyle, 35, was jailed for five years, plus a six-month reactivated sentence, for three robberies and three attempted robberies.

But Detective Garda Elaine Murphy described what happened when Mr Doyle tried to rob Café Jane on Shandon St, Cork, on Friday, December 13, 2024.

Knife

“He entered Café Jane and walked around the premises, before going behind the counter brandishing a knife and demanding that the staff empty the till. They defended themselves with a brush and refused to open the till. He fled the scene prior to the arrival of gardaí,” Det Gda Murphy said.

Judge Dermot Sheehan outlined the crimes committed by Doyle around December last year and said of the attempted robbery at Café Jane: “But for the fortitude of staff, he would have succeeded.” 

Defence barrister, Brendan Kelly, said: “He finds himself here again. He says himself he has disappointed everyone in his life. He has to be able to break the cycle.

“He appreciates you (Judge Sheehan) have a job to do. All he wants to do is apologise for the person he was, the harm he continues to do to himself and to others. And it will continue if he does not deal with his addiction.

“He hopes that on release he can do a long rehabilitation programme. He is on methadone. He is taking things in hand. This is a man tortured by his own sober insight. He realises the enormity of what he has done to these people. His life will be short if he continues the way he is going.”

Guilty pleas

Doyle, of 20 Mount Eden Rise, Blarney St, Cork, entered guilty pleas to all charges.

Det Gda Murphy said Doyle went to Sensei Coffee and Sushi Café on the Mardyke, Cork, on December 5, 2024, went around the counter, brandished a knife, and opened the till and took notes totalling €25.

On December 10, he carried out a similar offence at Lulu’s Coffee, Lough Rd, The Lough, where he got away with €200, despite staff efforts to stop him.

At 9.10am on December 13, he approached a woman at Witherlings Lane, Shandon, Cork, and he demanded money, showing that he had a knife up his sleeve. The woman showed him she only had coins in her purse and he fled.

Two minutes later, at Pope’s Quay, he produced a knife and robbed another woman — a tourist from Slovenia — of her wallet, containing cards and €150 in cash.

Around this time, he also attempted a robbery at The Corner Shop on St Mary’s Road, Cork.

Det Gda Murphy agreed that Martin Doyle was in the full throes of drug addiction at the time of these crimes.