Case No. 0506Rape · Co. Limerick
Patrick Faulkner jailed for seven and a half years for raping 15-year-old girl at birthday party in Limerick
Patrick Faulkner, a man who was 18 at the time, was convicted of raping a 15-year-old girl at a birthday party in Limerick in September 2020. The victim, who did not know Faulkner but was aware of him through a family connection, ran from the house after the offence and later self-harmed and attempted suicide. He was found guilty by a jury at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Limerick in February 2026. In July 2026, Judge Eileen Creedon sentenced him to seven and a half years in prison, reducing a headline sentence of eight and a half years by suspending the final six months for a year. He had previously received a suspended 18-month sentence in November 2023 for a harassment offence committed in July 2020.
- Reportednot reported
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In courtnot reported
- Verdictnot reported
- Sentenced28 Jul
2 reports
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet
Key facts
consolidated from all reports- What happened
- Patrick Faulkner was convicted of raping a 15-year-old girl at a birthday party in Limerick.
- Where
- The offence took place in Limerick, where Faulkner has an address at Lower Mallow Street.
- When
- The rape occurred around September 2020, two months after a harassment offence committed in July 2020.
- Other details
- The victim did not know Faulkner but knew of him because a cousin of hers was friendly with some of his family.
- The victim wished to waive her anonymity so Faulkner could be named.
- The victim self-harmed and attempted suicide as a result of the rape.
- Faulkner has previous convictions including harassment, public-order offences, assault and road-traffic offences.
- Since the offence, Faulkner married and had two children.
- Investigation
- After his arrest, Faulkner told gardaí the 15-year-old had initiated the sexual activity and it was all consensual.
- In court
- He was convicted by a jury at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Limerick in February 2026.
- Sentence
- Judge Eileen Creedon sentenced him to seven and a half years in prison in July 2026, reducing a headline sentence of eight and a half years by suspending the final six months for a year.
- He received a suspended 18-month sentence on 11 November 2023 at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court for the harassment offence.
35 statements extracted from the articles
- whatTwo getaway drivers were sentenced to six years in prison by the Special Criminal Court (irishmirror.ie)
- whatOne shooting was recorded from inside the stolen car and went viral on social media (irishmirror.ie)
- whatO'Donovan and Blackhall were third-tier members of the O'Donoghue organised crime group (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe O'Donoghue group has been in a violent feud with the Collins organised crime group since 2022 (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe feud has led to 36 shootings and various attacks using explosives (irishmirror.ie)
- whatBlackhall crashed the car into a lampost at a busy roundabout five minutes away (irishmirror.ie)
- whatCocaine, heroin and herbal cannabis were found at Blackhall's home (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe firearm has never been recovered (irishmirror.ie)
- whatO'Donovan was the driver of a Lexus that met the hit team before they set the Audi on fire (irishmirror.ie)
- whatPatrick Faulkner was convicted of raping a 15-year-old girl at a birthday party (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe victim wished to waive her anonymity so Faulkner could be named (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe victim did not know Faulkner but knew of him because a cousin of hers was friendly with some of his family (irishtimes.com)
- whatAfter the rape the girl ran out of the house and told a friend she had been raped (irishtimes.com)
- whatAfter his arrest Faulkner told gardaí the 15-year-old had initiated the sexual activity and it was all consensual (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe victim self-harmed and attempted suicide as a result of the rape (irishtimes.com)
- whereBlackhall was the driver of a Volkswagen Scirocco used in a drive-by shooting on Hyde Avenue, Limerick (irishmirror.ie)
- whereFaulkner has an address at Lower Mallow Street in Limerick city (irishtimes.com)
- whenLate at night on May 8, 2025, shots were fired at various houses on Hyde Avenue (irishmirror.ie)
- whenThe harassment offence was committed in July 2020, two months before the rape (irishtimes.com)
- weaponThe front passenger fired 9mm calibre bullets from a Glock semi-automatic pistol (irishmirror.ie)
- weaponBallistics experts confirmed the same Glock pistol was used in both attacks (irishmirror.ie)
- investigationBlackhall's DNA was found on the driver's side airbag of the Volkswagen (irishmirror.ie)
- investigationDet Garda Denise Moriarty gave evidence at the sentencing hearing (irishtimes.com)
- chargeBlackhall pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine, cannabis and diamorphine for sale or supply at Mungret Court on June 10, 2025 (irishmirror.ie)
- chargeBlackhall pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm on January 6 at Hyde Avenue in Limerick (irishmirror.ie)
- chargeSeven other counts were taken into consideration for Blackhall (irishmirror.ie)
- chargeO'Donovan pleaded guilty to facilitating a serious offence by a criminal organisation, namely possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, between April 26 and May 8, 2025 (irishmirror.ie)
- chargeThree further charges were taken into account for O'Donovan (irishmirror.ie)
- courtHe was convicted by a jury at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Limerick in February 2026 (irishtimes.com)
- courtJudge Eileen Creedon imposed the sentence (irishtimes.com)
- sentenceThe headline sentence was 8½ years, reduced to 7½ years with the final six months suspended for a year (irishtimes.com)
- sentenceHe was given a suspended sentence of 18 months on 11 November 2023 at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court for the harassment (irishtimes.com)
- otherO'Donovan has 30 previous convictions for misuse of drugs, criminal damage and road traffic offences (irishmirror.ie)
- otherFaulkner has previous convictions including harassment, public-order offences, assault and road-traffic offences (irishtimes.com)
- otherSince the offence Faulkner married and had two children (irishtimes.com)
The reporting
newest first- 28 Jul2026Young man who raped teenage girl jailed for seven years
Reports the sentencing hearing, including the victim's impact statement, details of the offence as testified by Det Garda Denise Moriarty, Faulkner's previous convictions, and the judge's reasoning for reducing the headline sentence from 8½ years to 7½ years.
victim, 15, femaleconvicted, Patrick Faulkner, 24, male, named, irish (judged from name)Patrick Faulkner - 28 Jul2026Getaway drivers jailed over attack that ended up on social media
Sentencing details for both drivers, including the gang feud context, the viral video of the second shooting, and the drugs found at Blackhall's home.
convicted, John O'Donovan, 19, male, named, irish (judged from name)John O'Donovanconvicted, Shane Blackhall, 21, male, named, irish (judged from name)Shane Blackhall