Kilkenny man with 29 convictions gets prison sentence for selling drugs

A prison sentence has been handed down to a Kilkenny man convicted of drug offences.

Three charges of being in possession of illegal drugs and two further charges of having drugs for sale or supply, were brought against Barry Brennan, 42 Fatima Place, Kilkenny. He pleaded guilty to all charges.

Sergeant Morgan O’Connor said Mr Brennan’s home was searched under the Misuse of Drugs Act on June 27, 2024.
Gardaí discovered €800 of one drug, €380 of a second drug and a amount of a third drug valued at €30.
A digital weighing scales was also found.

Mr Brennan made admissions to gardaí that he was involved in the sale or supply of the drugs.
There are 29 previous convictions recorded against the defendant.

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Solicitor Ed Hughes said his client is 34. He had been working since he left school, and for the last four years without incident.
He had previously had difficulties with drugs, the solicitor said of his client. Mr Brennan ‘stayed completely out of trouble’ when he was working, driving a forklift. However, one day he suffered a seizure and now can not do that work for a year.

Mr Hughes said that because of inactivity and lack of funds Mr Brennan got involved with “negative influences” he had previously been involved with.

On the day of the search Mr Brennan had used one drug but he was only storing the other two varieties. He was doing this to reduce his own drugs debt to a third party, Mr Hughes explained to the court.

The solicitor appealed to the court to order a Probation Report before sentencing. Mr Brennan was apologetic and ‘annoyed with himself’ following this incident.

Judge Geraldine Carthy said it was an aggravating factor in this case that Mr Brennan had been charged with similar offences in the past.

She said she was satisfied she did not need a Probation Report and that in all the circumstances there was no doubt in her mind that Mr Brennan had reached the threshold for a custodial sentence. It was concerning that he was becoming a recidivist offender, the judge added.

Mr Brennan was convicted and a prison sentence of 10 months imposed on one of the charges with the others marked taken into consideration.
Recognisance was fixed in the event of an appeal.