Mum-of-four pressured into holding drugs for gangs now a ‘born-again Christian'
A mother-of-four who said she was pressured by criminal groups to hold drugs in her home and was "living in fear" has told a court that she is now a born-again Christian.
Lisa Lyons, of Mac Uilliam Grove, Tallaght, Dublin 24, appeared before Judge Michael Connellan at Tallaght District Court on Friday, May 2, in relation to a search carried out at her home by Garda Nicky Cleere on November 15, 2021.
During the search, gardaí discovered a handbag hidden inside a larger bag. The court heard that inside were nine individual bags of cannabis weighing 29g, along with €508 in cash.
Tallaght district court.
News in 90 seconds - 10th May 2025
The 36-year-old pleaded guilty to the possession of cannabis for sale or supply, contrary to Section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 and unlawful possession under Section 3 of the same Act.
The court heard Lyons has six previous convictions, all road traffic offences, but has no history of drug offending.
She was represented by Ethan Foley BL, who said his client had been placed under significant pressure by certain groups to hold the drugs and had been living in fear.
'There's no sign of any wealth in her home,' he told the court, adding that Lyons had no previous involvement in drugs and had cooperated fully with gardaí.
'Is it fair to say this is a once-off?' Judge Connellan asked. Mr Foley agreed, citing Lyons' relatively clean record, difficult personal circumstances and the fact that she had been living in fear at the time.
The court was told Lyons is a full-time mother and that one of her children has special needs, while she also volunteers with the DSPCA.
She told Judge Connellan that she had been struggling with anxiety at the time of the offence, but that she is now doing much better. 'I'm a born-again Christian,' she said.
Mr Foley asked the court to be as lenient as possible, before Judge Connellan imposed a fine of €600 with seven months to pay.
Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Daily Mirror
14 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Jail for drunk driver who couldn't remember how he ended up in different county
A Co Wexford man who couldn't remember how he ended up drunk behind the wheel of a car at the other end of the country has been jailed for a total of eight months and put off the road for 10 years. Father-of-four Martin O'Brien appeared before Letterkenny District Court in Co Donegal charged with a number of offences. It comes after an incident on June 24 last, when a member of the public reported a car being driven in an erratic manner in Letterkenny. Garda Sergeant Jim Collins told the court that O'Brien has 95 previous convictions and outlined the charges against the 43-year-old. The offences include public order, theft, dangerous driving and driving without insurance for which O'Brien had served some time in prison. Sgt Collins said Gardai received an anonymous call from a member of the public on the day after they saw a silver Vauxhall car being driven "all over the road" at Ballyraine in Letterkenny. The driver, a Martin O'Brien, of The Elms, Park Avenue, Gorey, Co Wexford, was arrested and brought to Letterkenny Garda Station. When in custody, Gardai discovered that O'Brien was not the owner of the car, he was not insured to drive the car and he also tested positive for alcohol. O'Brien was charged that at Lidl Carpark, Ballyraine, Letterkenny, Co Donegal a public place in the said District Court Area of Letterkenny district no 1, while being a specified person as defined in section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 2010 as amended by section 9 of the Road Traffic (No. 2) Act 2011, did drive a mechanically propelled vehicle while there was present in his body a quantity of alcohol such that, within three hours after so driving, the concentration of alcohol in his blood did exceed a concentration of 20 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, to wit 124 milligrams. The charge was Contrary to section 4(2)(b) & 4(5) of the Road Traffic Act 2010. He was also charged that on the same date and location he did unlawfully use a mechanically propelled vehicle without the consent of the owner or without other lawful authority. The charge was Contrary to Section 112 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961, (as amended by Section 65 of the Road Traffic Act, 1968, and as amended by Section 18 of the Road Traffic Act, 2006). O'Brien was also charged - on the same date and place - with being the user of a mechanically propelled vehicle, such vehicle being one for which neither a vehicle insurer nor an exempted person would be liable for injury caused by the negligent use of said vehicle at that time and for which there was not then in force an approved policy of insurance as required by Part VI of the Road Traffic Act, 1961, as amended by Part VI of the Road Traffic Act, 1968. That charge was Contrary to Section 56(1) & (3) Road Traffic Act 1961 as amended by Section 18 of the Road Traffic Act, 2006. Solicitor for the accused, Mr Robert Ryan, told the court that his client had a long addiction to heroin and had been on a methadone programme when he previously came out of prison. He had turned to alcohol since but Mr Ryan said his client presented as a very different man from when he was arrested. He said O'Brien had suffered a number of tragedies in his life but was trying to get his life back on the straight and narrow. He added that on the day in question, O'Brien had little or no memory of the incidents and doesn't even know how he ended up in Co Donegal. The accused had put up his hands to the charges and now wanted to put them behind him. Judge Eiteain Cunningham sentenced O'Brien to a total of eight months in prison and also banned him from holding a driving licence for 10 years. Sign up to the Irish Mirror's Courts and Crime newsletter here and get breaking crime updates and news from the courts direct to your inbox.
Irish Examiner
15 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Man convicted of careless driving and possession of cocaine has turned his life around, court hears
A van driver who was stopped because he was driving in a careless manner and admitted to possession of cannabis and cocaine has been drug-free for more than a year, the district court was told. Detective Garda Brendan McGarry told Mallow District Court that Kevin Mullins, aged 30, of Evanwood, Castletroy, Co Limerick, was the driver of a white Renault Master van that was observed driving at Newberry near Mallow on August 26, 2023. Det McGarry said the van was going around bends too quickly, causing it to sway on its rear suspension. Det McGarry said while Mullins' driving 'wasn't great', road conditions were good on what was a warm summer's evening at 6.30pm. He conceded the accused's driving was at the 'lower end' of the criteria for dangerous driving, and could reasonably be considered as careless driving. The court was told Mullins would offer a plea of guilty to the lesser charge of careless driving, and was also pleading guilty to possession of small amounts of cannabis on two occasions and cocaine on one occasion at Holycross, Charleville, Co Cork, on November 17, 2023. The court heard Mullins had 18 previous convictions, and had been disqualified from driving since the incident in question for drug-driving. Defence solicitor Cathal Lombard said his client had been fully co-operative at all times and had subsequently been in prison. He said Mullins had gone through a traumatic period in his life where a 'number of serious illnesses' had affected those close to him. He said Mullins had been drug-free for over a year, was engaging with addiction services and the probation service and had been in employment. He said Mullins had also completed a pro-social driving course. Judge Colm Roberts said: 'I hope you are the person your solicitor says you have become', and agreed to reduce the dangerous-driving charge to one of careless-driving. He convicted Mullins of that offence, disqualifying him from driving for one year and imposing a fine of €250, with one month to pay. For possession of cocaine, he was sentenced to three months in prison, suspended for one year, and placed under probation service supervision for six months. The two charges of possession of cannabis were taken into consideration. This article is funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme
Irish Independent
15 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Man accused over Longford house raid and refusing to provide fingerprints to gardaí remanded in custody
Liam Cosgrove Today at 09:55 An eastern European man has appeared in court charged in connection to a burglary at a house in county Longford over the weekend. Sarunas Utyra (34), whose address is unknown, appeared via video link at a sitting of Longford District Court following an alleged break-in at Clondra, Longford during the early hours of Saturday morning.
