Two men jailed for armed robbery of post office in Dublin

Natasha Reid

Two men have been jailed for six years each for a Dublin post office robbery in which a customer had to dive on her three-year-old grandchild to protect him.

Both men pleaded guilty to the robbery of a post office on Decies Road, Ballyfermot on November 11th 2023. They also pleaded guilty to having an imitation firearm that looked like a handgun.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Mark O’Grady had the imitation firearm and Paul Bradley had a metal wheel jack when they were driven to the post office by a third man, who has previously been jailed for six years for the crime.

There was one customer in the shop with her three-year-old grandchild at the time. There were also three female staff members behind counter.

O’Grady (35), with an address at Bridge Street Lower, Dublin 8, stood at the door with the imitation firearm and prevented people entering and leaving, while Bradley (43), with an address on Meath Place in Dublin, went inside with the third man.

This man, Lee Conlon (44), who drove the gang to and from the scene in a stolen car, used a large scaffolding pole or rammer to smash the protective glass on the counter.

The three tellers then fled to a backroom, and Conlon went behind the counter and took €20,000 in cash, handing some to Bradley.

The postmaster and other witnesses managed to note the registration number of the getaway car and, within five minutes, the gardaí had it under observation near St James’ Hospital.

Conlon crashed into another vehicle at a red light. All three fled, but were arrested within minutes, and all of the money was recovered.

Judge Martin Nolan heard that the postmaster was working in the shop beside the post office when he heard the commotion. He tried to enter the post office, but O’Grady pointed the imitation gun in his face. A supervisor also said a gun was pointed at her.

The woman with the three-year-old child said that she had to dive on her grandson to protect him when she heard a bang, and that she was shouted at to keep down.

Dominic McGinn SC, defending O’Grady, said that his client had a very sad upbringing, with both his parents dead by the time he was eight, his father having been murdered in 1996.

O’Grady had been living on the streets since the age of 14, except when in prison, and has spent most of his time incarcerated. Since his teenage years, he had suffered from drug addiction, which was the root cause of his offending.

Garret Baker SC, defending Paul Bradley, noted that his client pleaded guilty to the firearms offence on a joint enterprise basis, but was not the one with the firearm or the one who smashed the glass. He also noted that his client was so intoxicated at the time that he was not fit for garda interview.

“He has spent the majority of his adult life in custody. His life has been plagued by rampant drug addiction,” he said. “In his garda interview, he referred to a time when he had more potential. He had a trial for Luton Town FC in London.”

Bradley told gardaí that drugs had ruined him.

Judge Nolan said all men were equally culpable.

“I gave Mr Conlon six years,” he recalled. “I can see no reason to depart from that sentence here.

He imposed six years on the robbery count on each man, and five years concurrent on the firearms charge.

The court previously heard that Conlon had also been involved in the burglary of the Hugo Boss shop on Grafton Street on January 18, 2023, in which a car was reversed into the front of the shop, causing €51,000 of damage to the door and windows.

Conlon, of Meath Place, was one of three men who then stole clothing worth over €7,100 from the shop. He received an 18-month sentence for that burglary.