Robber who dropped phone during failed bookies raid jailed for five years

Fiona Ferguson

A robber who dropped his phone during a failed bookies raid and later that day dropped €200 he took from a supermarket has been jailed for five years.

Michael Geoghegan (43) was identified from CCTV footage of the robberies and gardaí then went to his house. A message arrived on the phone left in the bookies from “mam” asking why officers were outside their house. He cooperated with gardaí and made full admissions.

Geoghegan of Ormond View, Swords Manor, Swords, Co Dublin, pleaded guilty to attempted robbery at Boyle Sports and two counts of robbery at Lidl. The offences all occurred in Swords on November 13th, 2025. He has been in custody since the date of the offence.

Geoghegan has 71 previous convictions, including robbery, theft, criminal damage, threats, burglary, firearms, drugs, public order and road traffic offences. He was under a two-year suspended sentence at the time of these offences.

Passing sentence on Monday, Judge Orla Crowe noted Geoghegan has a long history of offending and had been in and out of prison for a long time.

Threats

Judge Crowe said the offences had been utterly terrifying for the victims, carried out with what looked like a real gun and threats being issued.

The judge said one of the staff members had described the “real raw fear” she felt and said she should not have been subjected to such an ordeal while doing her job.

Judge Crowe noted the strong letter from his mother outlines her devastation and shame at his actions and describes how her son’s life went out of control when introduced to drugs.

She noted he was now doing well on a methadone reduction programme. She said the lack of structure on his previous release from custody had not assisted him.

She said Geoghegan’s life had been beset by addiction and a lot of victim’s lives marred as a result.

She set a headline sentence of eight years imprisonment and, in light of the mitigating and personal circumstances, imposed a sentence of six years with the final year suspended.

The conditions of the suspension include two years of probation supervision, especially in relation to vocational and addiction services. The sentence is backdated to reflect time in custody.

She adjourned a hearing in relation to the activation of his previous sentence to Wednesday.

An investigating garda told Grainne O’Neill BL, prosecuting, that Geoghegan first attempted to rob Boyle Sports. He was spotted by staff acting suspiciously, before he produced what appeared to be a gun. The staff member sought safety in another room and pressed a panic button.

CCTV

CCTV showed Geoghegan lying on top of the counter in a failed attempt to get money from the till.

He dropped his phone, which was later recovered by gardaí.

Later that day at Lidl, Geoghegan approached a woman working at the till with a realistic looking gun and ordered her to open the till. She had to get a fob from a colleague and initially put in the wrong passcode in panic, while Geoghegan shouted and pointed the weapon at her.

He took €250 from that till, before moving to another till where he demanded further cash and took another €250. A witness described him as wearing a mask and having his hoodie up.

Both employees in Lidl described being terrified and believing that the gun was real.

Gardaí attended at Lidl and watched CCTV, with a description being put out over the radio.

About 10 minutes later, a customer who had been in the supermarket saw Geoghegan coming towards her in the car park wearing different clothes. She saw him place the gun in a bush.

The court heard he had discarded his other clothes in a nearby laneway.

The woman returned to the supermarket to alert gardai, while Geoghegan got a taxi back to his home. Gardaí identified Geoghegan from the supermarket CCTV and attended at his house.

The phone left behind in Boyle Sports received a message from “Mam” asking “Why are the gardaí outside our house?” Gardaí were permitted entry to the house and arrested Geoghegan who made full admissions.

The court heard €50 was recovered from the taxi driver as well as €200 Geoghegan had dropped outside the supermarket.

He told gardaí that he had a debt of €7,000 and threats had been issued. He said €4,000 of the debt was paid by his father, and he had committed the robberies to try and raise the balance.

Gregory Murphy BL, defending, submitted that Geoghegan had said in both Boyle Sports and Lidl that he did not wish to hurt anyone. He said the gun used in the offences was an airsoft gun.

'Smoking crack'

He said his client was “caught red handed” but had been compliant with gardaí. He said Geoghegan had outlined he was “smoking crack” on the morning of the offences.

Murphy observed his client had many previous convictions but submitted there were also times where he had been keeping his head down and not committing crimes. He handed in a letter from his client’s mother, in which she said he has changed since going into custody.

He said Geoghegan had been acquitted of a serious offence as a teenager and was introduced at that time to drugs. He said Geoghegan started his life of addiction at that stage and all his offending was to feed his habit. He said he is embarrassed at his actions.

Counsel said Geoghegan had relapsed following difficulties in his personal life and owed a €7,000 debt. He was the subject of threats and committed the offences to pay the remainder of the “debt".

He said Geoghegan found life difficult when released without structure and has mental health issues which have not yet been addressed in prison. Geoghegan is on methadone. He wanted to get a job on release and improve his life. Murphy asked the court to build some help and assistance into the sentence.