A Franciscan nun who was left with a broken hip and shoulder in Sandymount was among the victims of two heroin addicts who snatched handbags and were jailed for three years by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Robert Shevlin (27), of Champions Avenue, Cathal Brugha Street, and John Swan (29), of Spencer Dock, pleaded guilty to a series of robberies from elderly women on dates between May 21st and July 31st, 2003.
Shevlin admitted seven charges of stealing handbags from women and one charge of stealing property while Swan pleaded guilty to four charges of stealing handbags from women and two charges of stealing cars.
Det Garda Brian Clune said the accused stole €530 from eight women aged from 57 to 78 and two in their early 20s.
He said a 67-year-old Franciscan nun from Dundalk had been knocked to the ground as she walked along Sandymount Avenue on July 28th, 2003.
She did not know who had hit her, but she then saw a young man walking towards her and believed he was going to help her.
Garda Clune said she was dazed and lying on the ground when she felt her bag being dragged off her shoulder. The man then got into a car with her bag and drove away. The bag contained €100 cash and personal items, including rosary beads that had belonged to her mother.
Garda Clune said an ambulance was called to the scene, and the nun was taken to hospital where she was released a week later.
She suffered a broken hip and shoulder and needed four stitches for a cut to her forehead.
Swan admitted to being the car driver, but there was no evidence that Shevlin was involved.
Garda Clune said that on July 31st, 2003, a 78-year-old woman was getting into her car in Sandymount when she fell to the ground after receiving a blow to the back of her head.
The woman then felt her bag being pulled from her shoulder. She was in fear of being dragged along the ground so she let it go.
The garda said a solicitor and the driver of a car both witnessed the robbery and were able to give gardaí a description of the getaway vehicle and the robber. This led to the arrest of both Swan and Shevlin.
Judge Desmond Hogan suspended the last 12 months of the sentence on condition they keep the peace and be of good behaviour for four years and undergo drug treatment programmes while in prison.