A father and his daughter-in-law are expected to be sentenced next week for their role in trying to obtain a false passport for a man who has now fled the jurisdiction.
Andrew Cash snr (58), of Whitechurch Heights, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16, and Mary Cash (35), formerly of Harpurs Lane, Portlaoise, Co Laois, pleaded guilty to providing the Irish Passport Services with information or documents known to be false or misleading on June 12th, 2019.
Det Sgt Padraig Jennings told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court how red flags were raised at the passport office when an application for a passport in the name of Martin Connors was requested.
Personnel in the office were unsure whether the submitted pictures matched the applicant.
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The court heard the passport office used software to check the passport images and found they belonged to Andrew Cash jnr, the son of Cash snr and the husband of Mary Cash. The matter was referred to gardaí.
During the Garda investigation, gardai noted the passport pictures and application form had been stamped by a senior member of the force.
Det Sgt Jennings told the court a relationship between this member of the force and Cash snr was discovered. Devices seized showed communication between the two, including communication on the morning that the passport pictures and application were stamped.
The senior garda, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had also accessed the Garda Pulse database in relation to the Cash family. The court heard the garda had also “interceded” on behalf of Cash jnr, who had a number of outstanding bench warrants at the time, which were executed in a “benign manner”.
Andrew Cash jnr is wanted by gardaí and a warrant is out for his arrest as he has fled the jurisdiction.
Cash snr was arrested, interviewed and entered a guilty plea in advance of his trial date.
The court heard how Mary Cash travelled to Sligo and used a false name, “Mary Connor”, and an address to obtain the birth certificate of Martin Connors. The Garda investigation could place Cash in Sligo on the day the birth certificate was obtained and gardaí found a text message from Cash to her husband saying, “Got it”. She was arrested and interviewed in November 2019.
Cash snr has 31 prior convictions, including six from the Circuit Court. Mary Cash has 10 previous convictions, three of which are from the Circuit Court for money-laundering.
Timothy O’Leary, defending Cash snr, said his client has had no other convictions since 2020. He said the man had been married for more than 40 years and had seven children. He said Cash snr was a settled Traveller who grew up in a physically abusive home and suffered from PTSD.
O’Leary said Cash snr was a “cog in the wheel”, but did not want to make any excuses for his actions.
He asked the court to be as lenient as possible.
Colman Fitzgerald, defending Mary Cash, said she married into the Cash family, but was now separated from her husband since 2024.
Fitzgerald said that due to tragic circumstances she cared for her deceased sister’s three children along with her own three children.
He said her role was small within a larger criminal enterprise and that she was doing what her husband had asked her to do. He said she took full responsibility for her actions.
A letter of apology from Mary Cash was handed in to the court and she asked the court to allow her to continue her role in caring for the children, saying she had “considerable responsibilities”.
Judge Roderick Maguire remanded both defendants on continuing bail to the next hearing on April 24th.
