Con man jailed in Co Clare

A con man who turned himself in to gardaí shortly after phoning the Joe Duffy's RTÉ Liveline programme has been jailed for 21 months.

At Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Donagh McDonagh activated a 21-month suspended sentence of a two-year jail term he imposed on Frankie Shanley (35) in November 2008.

In court today, Det Garda Larry Bergin confirmed that on a previous occasion, Shanley handed himself into gardaí at Manorhamilton Garda station after he had phoned the Liveline radio programme.

A list of his previous convictions shows Shanley has appeared in courts across the country over a 13-year period stretching from this year back to 1998.

The records show Mr Shanley has appeared charged with various offences at courts in Nenagh, Clifden, Killaloe, Ennis, Longford, Killarney, Clonmel, Bandon, Athy, Sligo, Cavan, Carrickmacross, Fermoy, Mallow, Bantry, Donegal, Tipperary, Castleblayney, Shannon, Dublin, Listowel, Kilkee, Clonakilty and Strokestown.

Judge McDonagh jailed Shanley today after his failure to engage with the Probation Service after his release from prison in 2009.

Det Garda Bergin said Shanley has been convicted of a number of offences since receiving the suspended sentence in Clonmel in 2008.

Judge McDonagh said "the number of counties across which Mr Shanley has ranged is quite extraordinary".

Counsel for Shanley, Lorcan Connolly BL said none of his client's previous convictions related to violence and all concerned road traffic and theft.

In court, Det Garda Bergin confirmed that on a previous occasion, Shanley handed himself in to gardaí at Manorhamilton Garda station to admit to a number of crimes after he had phoned Joe Duffy's Liveline show.

Shanley turned himself in in September 2006 and Mr Connolly said his client handed himself in in an attempt to clean the slate with the authorities “as he had so many irons in the fire that he needed to get matters dealt with once and for all”.

Mr Connolly said a consultant psychiatrist has found that Shanley suffers from a psychotic mental illness known as paranoid delusional disorder.

He added that the psychiatrist said Shanley’s offences occurred during a timeframe when his psychosis was untreated and they should be treated as singular as they stem from the one mental process.

Mr Connolly said Shanley is not receiving any medical care in prison and that he had contracted tuberculosis while under the care of the State, and has also been assaulted.

Det Garda Bergin said he was incorrect to state in court on Tuesday that there were hundreds of warrants for Mr Shanley.

He stated there were 60 warrants altogether for Mr Shanley throughout his history, confirming that there are no outstanding warrants.

Judge McDonagh said he was very conscious of the medical and psychiatric reports that were handed into court in Clonmel in 2008 and that he had looked back over them.

"I was anxious back then to try to put a regime in place which would provide some stability and some hope that this cycle of criminality could be broken. I was very anxious to try to give him a chance. I believed that everything that could be done for Mr Shanley

in Clonmel was done," he said.

"I have to say that I am disappointed in the extreme that a carefully crafted system to assist Mr Shanley has just been ignored."

Judge McDonagh said there was "no ray of hope" for him that Shanley would comply with any Probation Service regime.

"In those circumstances, the only option is to activate the sentence in full," he said.

Judge McDonagh backdated the sentence to May 4th.