A “vulnerable” mother and cancer survivor who was caught with an arsenal of weapons “secreted” under the stairs of her home has been jailed by the Special Criminal Court for four years.
Lawyers for defendant Sarah Jane Byrne had previously suggested that any custodial sentence should be “as short as possible”.
However, presiding judge Ms Justice Karen O’Connor said on Mondaythat there had to be “a deterrent element” and that society must be protected from weapons of brutality, intimidation and fear, where lives are put at risk and families destroyed.
Last month, barristers for Byrne (37) and her co-accused Jamie Moss (22), asked the three-judge court to be as lenient as possible given that both pleaded guilty and are considered at low risk of reoffending, while neither have any previous convictions.
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Michael Bowman SC, for Byrne, had said at that sentence hearing that his client was a vulnerable young woman with mental health and addiction problems who had previously been subjected to domestic abuse. She stored firearms to help pay off a debt to drug dealers, counsel said, but since her arrest has “overcome the difficulties in her life”, despite being branded a “rat” by members of her community.
Last month, Detective Garda Emma Ryan told Tessa White, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, that as part of a Garda operation, members of the Emergency Response Unit stopped a grey Ford Focus on the Old Navan Road in Blanchardstown on February 16th last year.
Moss was driving the car, while Byrne was in the passenger seat. In the passenger footwell, gardai found a Makarov pistol and ammunition wrapped in cling film, inside a plastic bag.
Gardaí searched Byrne’s house later that day, where they discovered a hole in the plasterboard of her bedroom.
Inside was a small plastic container with 27 rounds of 9mm Luger ammunition. Under the stairs, they found a shopping bag containing a submachine gun and a shotgun.
Before delivering sentence, the judge said that while the semi-automatic pistol found in the passenger footwell of the vehicle was fully loaded, the ammunition in the chamber was incompatible with the firearm.
The judge said significant firearms “of the most serious type” were found “secreted” in Byrne’s home, weapons which can have a catastrophic impact on communities. She noted that Byrne’s DNA was found on the black bag wrapping on the firearms. The judge said the aggravating factors in Byrne’s case included the nature and quality of the ammunition and weapons found in the vehicle and her house.
The judge referred to the lethal nature - both intentionally and potentially - of firearms in communities, which are used to kill, maim, intimidate and destroy lives.
In mitigation, the judge noted that Byrne had co-operated and made full admissions during her detention. She also referred to the difficult challenges the woman had faced in her life.
The judge said the defendant was the mother of a young child and had a long history of drug addiction. She said the court had received evidence that Byrne’s addiction resulted in her being compelled to leave the family home.
She noted that Byrne had also been involved in an abusive relationship. She said the defendant has a strong network of support and that the court had heard about her ongoing rehabilitation.
The judge said that Byrne was also in remission from cancer. She said the court had also received a letter from the defendant, where she referenced having experienced domestic violence and coercive control, as well as her addiction to drugs and the impact of a drug debt.
The judge set a headline sentence for Byrne on count three and four - possession of the 9mm Makarov semi-automatic pistol and ammunition - at seven years and six months. Having considered the mitigation and the guilty plea, the judge imposed a sentence of four years’ imprisonment for that offence.
Byrne was also sentenced to four years and four months imprisonment, with the final 12 months suspended, for possession of the shotgun and submachine gun found in her home.
Both sentences are to run concurrently.
