Kildare hotel guest woke up to find a man in his room
The court was told that a window had been left open
A guest at a Kildare hotel awoke in the early hours to find an intruder in his room, a court heard.
Before Naas District Court was James Mooney, 31, whose address was given as 696 Johnstownbridge, Enfield, who was prosecuted for trespass.
Sgt Mary Meade told the court the incident occurred on June 16, 2026 at the Hamlet Court Hotel in Johnstownbridge, Enfield.
Sgt Mary Meade said the guest woke at 3am and the defendant, who was not known to the guest, was standing there.
The court heard that a window had been left open and nothing was stolen during the incident.
Sgt Meade said the defendant left after being confronted by the guest.
Sgt Meade said the defendant got into the property after getting over a locked gate.
The sergeant also said he has 202 previous convictions, including 31 for theft and five for handling stolen property.
Defending barrister Sean Egan said the defendant is a father and had assisted the court by pleading guilty.
Otherwise, he added, a significant amount of time and energy could have been expended by the prosecution.
Mr Egan pointed out that nothing was stolen, no violence was sued and the defendant was not abusive.
He added that while it was terrifying for =someone to wake up and find someone in the room, the defendant was entirely inside the room.
Mr Egan also said the defendant was a pleasant man to deal with and was coming off drugs and alcohol in prison.
He added the defendant wants to be a good partner and a good father and had spent ten weeks in custody.
Mr Egan said both the defendant’s father and brother had died and he could not get out of custody to attend his brother’s funeral.
The court also heard the defendant spent eighteen months on an electrical apprenticeship in Intel.
“He has insight into where things are going wrong,” added Mr Egan and it is the defendant’s intention to enter rehabilitation to treat alcohol and drug issues. He also said that the defendant would resume his electrical apprenticeships with his brother.
Judge Catherine Hayden acknowledged that the defendant had put in the building blocks for a future.
Judge Hayden said she would give him credit for an early guilty plea though noted that he had 202 convictions. Judge Hayden said it was a “quite shocking” experience for the injured party and said the defendant knew what he was doing.
The judge imposed a six months custody term and suspended three months of this. The term was also backdated to when he went into custody.