Douglas man robbed bank to pay for cocaine debt but told cashier in note: 'I'm sorry for this'.
The accused, who had no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to carrying out this robbery at the Bank of Ireland in Douglas. Picture: Larry Cummins.
A ‘monumentally foolish’ decision to rob a bank to pay a €4,000 cocaine debt saw a man walking into the Bank of Ireland in Douglas shopping centre where he handed a note to a cashier saying he had a gun but finishing with the words: “Thank you, and I’m sorry for this”.
42-year-old Noel O’Brien of 68 Maryborough Court, Douglas, had no previous convictions of any kind and lay awake in bed the night before the robbery trying to come up with a plan to pay the debt he was under threat to pay off for his cocaine addiction.
In deciding to rob the bank, he thought that doing so at lunchtime would be quiet and would not affect as many people, defence barrister Mahon Corkery said in relation to the defendant’s misguided thinking on the day.
Judge Helen Boyle set a headline sentence of four-and-a-half years, reduced to three years because of the plea of guilty, with the last 18 months suspended. His total custodial sentence is 18 months.
Noel O’Brien, who had no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to carrying out this robbery at the Bank of Ireland in Douglas. Mr Corkery said the accused was under an active addiction at the time of the crime.
Det Garda Tom Delaney gave an outline of the allegations in the case.
“On November 19 2025, just before 2pm, a male entered Bank of Ireland Douglas Village Shopping Centre. His face was covered over, he handed the teller a note which read: “Hi I am Jack, I am a mute. Please do not scream or shout. I have a gun in my pocket. I want you to slowly empty the drawer and place all notes in an envelope. Remember stay calm and I will not hurt you. Put the envelope on the counter and make sure there are no trackers or dye packs in the envelope. Wait five minutes before sounding the alarm or I will come back. Thank you, and I am sorry for this."
“Gardai were alerted and attended the scene. CCTV was viewed which showed the culprit flee through the shopping centre and go to the toilets in the mall. Some of the clothing worn by the culprit during robbery was located in the cubicle – jacket, baseball hat, snood and gloves.
“The culprit left the centre in a black and red checked shirt. I identified the male from the CCTV footage as Noel O'Brien of 68 Maryborough Court, Douglas, Cork.”
The defendant then got a taxi home.
Garda Delaney said the accused later told gardaí that after the robbery he took €4,000 from the takings and got a bus where he had to meet unnamed persons to pay off a drugs debt.
Garda Delaney rang the accused, whom he knew, and arranged to meet him at 5.30pm that afternoon at a nearby Circle K garage. The first thing the accused said to him was: “I’m sorry, Tom.” The bank was left at a loss of €4,580, which was never recovered, while €1,680 was recovered.
Judge Boyle noted that the accused had fallen back into drug addiction a number times in his life and had some mental health difficulties. The judge commented that the cashier was unaware the gun was a fiction so it must have been terrifying.
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