Alcoholic who 'fell off the wagon' and burgled private dwelling of Cork pub is jailed

A man battling with his alcohol addiction "fell off the wagon" and burgled the private dwelling at a pub in Cork and now he has been jailed for two years.

Judge Helen Boyle imposed a sentence of two years and eight months on John Campion and suspended the last eight months at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

John Campion, of Cork Simon Community, pleaded guilty to the charge of burglary at a private dwelling area on the property at Tory Top Bar, Tory Top Road, Cork, on July 18, 2025.

Detective Garda Aoife Hayes said the entire incident was captured on CCTV and John Campion was seen going from a public area to an area marked private.

It was a private dwelling and CCTV showed the defendant going around that dwelling and stealing €300 worth of clothing.

The defendant accepted it was him, although he had little recollection of what occurred.

Det Garda Hayes said the accused had 12 previous convictions for burglary.

Judge Boyle said: “I accept there was no confrontation, no weapon and that this was not pre-planned. There was a significant impact on the lady who lives there — she was very grateful she was not there. It left her feeling vulnerable in her own home. She had to look at CCTV of a stranger going through her belongings.

“You saved the State the time and expense of a trial and book of evidence. You have longstanding addiction difficulties. You had been given a place to live. Because of this it is gone by the wayside.

“Your ‘falling off the wagon’ has had serious consequences for you. I accept you have periods of sobriety but you have not really conquered your alcohol addiction.” 

Paula McCarthy defence barrister said: “It was opportunistic. There was no confrontation or no violence.

“At the time of the incident, he had fallen off the wagon. But since this occurred, he went back to the Simon Community and recommenced dealing with his addiction difficulties with them. He has continued working with his key workers. He is anxious to get back into dealing with his addictions.”