Serial burglar who robbed the Dean of Christ Church Cathedral's residence is jailed

Isabel Hayes

A serial burglar with more than 200 convictions who robbed the Dean of Christ Church Cathedral's residence during a wedding has been jailed for three and a half years.

Zachary Purcell (36) walked into the Christ Church Deanery in Dublin 8 on July 23rd, 2022, while Dean Dermot Dunne was hosting a wedding, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard.

He stole an iPad and some jewellery with a total value of €2,000, and a credit card which was the property of the church, Marc Thompson BL, prosecuting, told the court. Purcell used the card to buy €50 worth of goods at a deli shop.

Purcell was arrested after his DNA was found on a water bottle he left at the Deanery, and he was recognised by gardaí on CCTV footage.

Purcell, of Westcourt, Basin Street Upper, Dublin 8, pleaded guilty to this burglary and another burglary offence at the Morgan Hotel, Dublin 2, on July 9th, 2022 – some two weeks prior to the Christ Church offence.

He has 201 previous convictions, including 35 burglary offences. His other convictions include theft, robbery, possession of stolen goods, violent disorder and possession of knives.

The court heard that on the day in question, the dean was holding a wedding at the residence when Purcell walked in through an open gate past the guests and into the house. The wedding party moved on to another venue, and when the dean returned home later that evening, he noticed some items had been taken.

The stolen iPad and jewellery were never returned, the court heard.

In relation to the Morgan Hotel incident, Garda Ian Gallagher told the court that Purcell was ejected from the hotel around 8.30am on the morning in question, before it later emerged that two American tourists had found him in their bedroom when they checked in. He had stolen some minor items from a trolley, the court heard.

None of the injured parties made victim impact statements, the court heard.

Karl Monahan BL, defending, said Purcell had a long history of drug addiction and has been in and out of custody since his teenage years. He rehabilitated himself a number of years ago and secured building work on the National Children's Hospital for a period of time, before he relapsed into drug use.

Purcell has been in custody since last year on another offence and has again rehabilitated and is now methadone-free, the court heard.

Sentencing Purcell on Tuesday, Judge Orla Crowe said the court was dealing with two burglaries in a short space of time. She noted the offences were committed when Purcell was on bail for another offence.

She said Purcell had an “entrenched drug addiction which has overwhelmed his life” and has led to criminal offending “with all of the consequences for all of the victims of his 201 convictions”.

She described his current rehabilitation as “commendable” but said she must give a custodial sentence. She said she would structure the sentence in order to aid Purcell's return to society.

The judge handed down a sentence of four and a half years and suspended the final 12 months on a number of conditions.