Poet fired several shots into house where there was a child

A convicted criminal, who fired several shots into a house where there was a child, has been given a 10-year prison sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, reports Natasha Reid and Niamh O’Donoghue.

Ian Maloney (38), who is now a poet, contacted gardaí to confess several months later because he was haunted by guilt.

Having entered crime at a young age because he blamed gardaí for the death of his brother, Maloney has since done ‘a 360-degree turnaround’ and published three books of poetry for charity.

Maloney of Cashel Road, Crumlin in Dublin, pleaded guilty to possession of a 9mm semi-automatic firearm with intent to endanger life on February 10 2022 at Downpatrick Road, Crumlin. He has 109 previous convictions.

On Monday, Judge Sarah Berkeley handed down a 10-year sentence with the final 18 months suspended and backdated to last March for time spent in custody.

Evidence in the case was heard last March when the judge remanded him in custody and directed a probation report.

On that date, Garda Ian Ward told the court that several rounds of 9mm-calibre ammunition were fired at the house, where the occupants at the time included a couple, their adult children and a child.

The householder was one of a number of people who contacted the gardaí to say shots had been fired through a door and window. On arrival, gardaí found the front door and window and a car in the driveway were damaged with bullets.

The couple had been watching TV when they noticed something happening at the window, before a bullet came through the blind.

The man later saw that bullets had lodged inside the house, including in a fridge.

The defendant became a person of interest due to social media posts showing that he was in an ongoing feud with one of the occupants of the house. He was arrested and interviewed seven times over a number of days, but made no admissions.

However, he was in custody in Cloverhill Prison in December of that year, when his solicitor contacted gardaí to say he wished to make a statement about the shooting.

“I was the male who fired the shots through the front door, bottom windows, top windows and cars,” he told them.

“You said there was a little girl in the house,” he continued. “I did not know… I have three little girls myself… I’m sorry… I regret it.”

He was asked why he was telling them now.

“I think it’s the right thing to do,” he replied.

Garda Ward said that he had two relevant previous convictions, including for a robbery in 2008 in which €1.2m worth of jewellery was stolen from a shop in Dundrum after a shot gun was produced to staff. He was sentenced to 12 years with the last two suspended for that crime.

He also received a four-year sentence for an assault causing harm that he carried out in 2009, and he was on bail for a number of offences, including trespassing at a garda station, when he carried out the Crumlin attack.

Gda Ward explained that the occupants of the house had declined to make a victim impact statement.

He agreed with Michael O’Higgins SC, defending, that gardaí accepted that it was ‘a reckless discharge’ rather than something he set out to do.

He agreed that he had seen a psychological report, which explained that Maloney’s brother had died when he was 16, and this had a significant impact on him.

Mr O’Higgins explained that the two brothers had gone camping, but that the deceased had been due in court, and he was arrested on a warrant when he returned from camping.

He was found with injuries in a laneway near Rathfarnham Garda Station a short time after being released from there, and he died in hospital. Mr Maloney blamed the gardaí and himself for bringing him on the camping trip. He had a hatred of the gardaí afterwards, said Mr O’Higgins.

Gda Ward agreed that it was unusual for someone with Maloney’s background to ask his solicitor to contact the gardaí to tell them he had committed a crime because it was the right thing to do.

Counsel said that he was seeking a probation report for his client, which was unusual when there were such significant previous convictions.

“But it’s unusual that he self-reported to the guards because it was the right thing to do,” he said. “He has completely changed his view of things and has done a 360-degree turnaround in terms of his conduct.”

Mr O’Higgins handed in a number of character references, including one from a publisher, whom the defendant had approached about publishing books of his poetry for a children’s charity.

She had been wary of him at first, but had since published three of his books.

The barrister then read out a letter Maloney had written to the family, whose house he had targeted.

“I was reckless,” he wrote. “I’ve been haunted by guilt. I made the statement because I couldn’t live with myself.”

In a letter to the court, he said that he was ‘no-longer that person’, and has done voluntary work here and abroad.

“I’ve distanced myself from my past,” he said. “I’m still under pressure. My house has been attacked by people trying to provoke me.”

Mr O’Higgins said that his guilt, anger, and deep-seated resentment at the gardaí over the death of his brother were what had provoked him to get involved in crime. However, now he felt enormous guilt, he said.

In sentencing, Judge Berkeley said the offences attracted a pre-mitigation sentence of 14 to 15 years. The judge said Maloney’s most significant mitigating factor was his early plea and his voluntary statement.

The judge noted the accused lost his brother 17 years ago. She also noted he suffers from uncontrollable anger and was taking illicit substances.

Maloney was sent to prison for robbery in 2011 which was “a very difficult time for him,” said the judge and he began to write poetry.

The judge said he left Ireland after he was sent a video of threats.

The judge said Maloney contended he was told there was no child in the house.

He acted erratically, mental health issues and suffered childhood trauma and he has elevated levels of anxiety and anger.

His poetry books were published to raise money for charity and he has turned his back on criminality.