Saturday 31 October 2026Compiled from published reports. Every claim links to its source.

Ireland Crime

Every case followed from the first report to the sentence, or to where the reporting stopped.

Case No. 20591Dangerous driving; robbery · Co. Donegal · 1 Aug 2018

Man pleads guilty to ramming Garda car and two Letterkenny robberies

On 1 August 2018 John Tierney, a 34-year-old man, fled gardaí at speeds of up to 135kph in a pursuit across Letterkenny, Co Donegal, and his car struck a Garda patrol car that was shunted into Garda Marcus O'Dowd, who was injured. Tierney was arrested at the scene, and while on bail for that incident he was charged over robberies on 24 and 26 February 2019 in the car park of the Courtyard Shopping Centre in Letterkenny, where a purse was taken from Mary Cooke and a holdall was targeted from Margaret Higgins. On 23 June 2023 at Letterkenny Circuit Court he pleaded guilty to all charges, and Judge John Aylmer adjourned the case to the following Tuesday for final sentencing. Tierney is in custody and no sentence had been reported at the time of the latest account.

  1. Reportednot reported
  2. Arrestednot reported
  3. Chargednot reported
  4. In court23 Jun
    2 reports
  5. Verdict
  6. Sentenced
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet

Key facts

consolidated from all reports
What happened
  • A man rammed a Garda patrol car during a high-speed pursuit across Letterkenny, Co Donegal.
  • Garda Marcus O'Dowd was struck and injured when the patrol car was shunted into him.
  • On 24 February a purse was snatched from behind Mary Cooke in the Courtyard Shopping Centre car park, and on 26 February a man tried to snatch a holdall from Margaret Higgins and dragged her to the ground.
When
  • The ramming incident occurred on 1 August 2018.
  • The robberies took place on 24 and 26 February 2019, while Tierney was on bail for the ramming.
Cause
The driver was drunk, uninsured and had no driving licence.
Investigation
  • Tierney was arrested at the scene and taken to Letterkenny Garda Station, where a blood sample showed 16 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.
  • Tierney was identified on CCTV, and gardaí raided his flat at Celtic Apartments the next day, recovering the purse, cards and Ms Higgins's black holdall but no money.
Charges
  • Tierney was charged with six offences: endangerment, criminal damage, dangerous driving, drink-driving, having no insurance and having no driving licence.
  • Tierney was also charged with two counts of robbery, one for each woman, in the Courtyard Shopping Centre car park in Letterkenny.
In court
  • At Letterkenny Circuit Court on 23 June 2023, Tierney, who has 18 previous convictions, pleaded guilty to all charges.
  • Judge John Aylmer adjourned the case to the following Tuesday for final sentencing, and Tierney is in custody.
Other details
The patrol car was written off after sustaining €11,975 of damage, and Garda O'Dowd was taken to Letterkenny University Hospital and was off work for several months.
39 statements extracted from the articles
  • whatA man rammed a Garda patrol car during a high-speed pursuit in Letterkenny. (donegallive.ie)
  • whatGarda Marcus O'Dowd was struck and injured when the patrol car was shunted into him. (donegallive.ie)
  • whatA purse was snatched from behind one of the women, Mary Cooke. (donegallive.ie)
  • whatA man tried to snatch a holdall from Margaret Higgins and dragged her to the ground. (donegallive.ie)
  • whereGardaí tried to stop Tierney during a pursuit across Letterkenny. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whereThe pursuit took place across Letterkenny. (donegallive.ie)
  • whenThe ramming incident occurred on August 1st, 2018. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whenThe robberies took place on February 24th and February 26th, 2019, while Tierney was on bail for the ramming. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whenThe ramming incident took place on 1 August 2018. (donegallive.ie)
  • whenThe robberies took place on 24 and 26 February 2019. (donegallive.ie)
  • causeTierney was drunk and uninsured during the pursuit. (irishmirror.ie)
  • causeThe driver was drunk and driving without a licence or insurance. (donegallive.ie)
  • investigationTierney was arrested at the scene and taken to Letterkenny Garda Station. (irishmirror.ie)
  • investigationA blood sample taken at Letterkenny Garda Station showed 16 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. (irishmirror.ie)
  • investigationTierney was identified on CCTV and his flat at Celtic Apartments was raided by gardaí the next day, where the purse and cards were found. (irishmirror.ie)
  • investigationThe black holdall containing the woman's personal belongings was recovered after a raid on Tierney's apartment. (irishmirror.ie)
  • investigationThe man was arrested at the scene and taken to Letterkenny Garda Station. (donegallive.ie)
  • investigationGardaí spotted the man on CCTV and raided his flat the following day. (donegallive.ie)
  • investigationThe purse and cards were recovered from the flat, but no money was found. (donegallive.ie)
  • chargeTierney faced six charges including endangerment, criminal damage, dangerous driving, drink-driving, having no insurance and having no driving licence. (irishmirror.ie)
  • chargeTierney also faced two charges of robbing two women in the car park of the Courtyard Shopping Centre in Letterkenny. (irishmirror.ie)
  • chargeHe faced six charges including endangerment, criminal damage, dangerous driving, drink-driving, having no insurance and having no driving licence. (donegallive.ie)
  • chargeHe faced two charges of robbing two women in the car park of the Courtyard Shopping Centre in Letterkenny. (donegallive.ie)
  • courtTierney, who has 18 previous convictions, pleaded guilty to all charges. (irishmirror.ie)
  • courtJudge John Aylmer adjourned the case until the following Tuesday for final sentencing. (irishmirror.ie)
  • courtThe case was heard at Letterkenny Circuit Court. (donegallive.ie)
  • courtThe man pleaded guilty to all charges. (donegallive.ie)
  • courtThe man is in custody. (donegallive.ie)
  • otherTierney reached speeds of up to 135kph during the chase. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherTierney's car struck the Garda patrol car, which was shunted into Garda O'Dowd. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherGarda O'Dowd was taken to Letterkenny University Hospital and was off work for several months. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherThe Garda patrol car was damaged and had to be written off. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherOn February 24th, a woman's purse was snatched from behind in the shopping centre car park. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherOn February 26th, a man tried to snatch a woman's holdall, and she was dragged to the ground. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherTierney is now in custody. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherThe driver reached speeds of up to 135kph. (donegallive.ie)
  • otherThe patrol car was written off after sustaining €11,975 of damage. (donegallive.ie)
  • otherThe man has 18 previous convictions. (donegallive.ie)
  • otherThe holdall belonging to Margaret Higgins was recovered from the flat. (donegallive.ie)

The reporting

newest first
  1. 23 Jun2023
    In courtdonegallive.ie, first report
    Drunk and uninsured man rammed Garda car in high-speed chase

    Court report on a guilty plea to the Garda car ramming and two 2019 robberies, with sentencing adjourned to a later date. Adds the robbery charges and victim impact statements, and the 2018 incident date.

    accused, John Tierney, 34, male, named, irish (judged from name)John Tierneyvictim, Marcus O'Dowd, male, irish (judged from name)Marcus O'Dowdvictim, Mary Cooke, female, irish (judged from name)Mary Cookevictim, Margaret Higgins, female, irish (judged from name)Margaret Higgins
  2. 23 Jun2023
    In courtirishmirror.ie, follow-up
    Drunk driver smashed into patrol car during high-speed chase

    Reports the guilty plea to all charges, the charge list, the victim impact statements, mitigation, and the adjournment for sentencing. Identifies the robbery victims and the Garda injured in the ramming.

    accused, John Tierney, 34, male, named, irish (judged from name)John Tierneyvictim, Marcus O'Dowd, male, irish (judged from name)Marcus O'Dowdvictim, Ms Cooke, femaleMs Cookevictim, Margaret Higgins, female, irish (judged from name)Margaret Higgins