Wednesday 28 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. 0575Burglary · Co. Dublin · 5 Feb 2025

Three sentenced over spree of burglaries at Dublin offices

Mark Byrne, 41, a man from Dublin 7, pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary, and Patrick Higgins, 35, a man from Dublin 7, and Nikita Ring, 34, a woman from Dublin 3, each pleaded guilty to one count, after a spree of burglaries at unoccupied offices in Parnell Square, Baggot Street Lower, and Eden Quay between February and July 2025. The group ransacked the offices, leaving them in disarray, and stole electronic goods including monitors, keyboards, and TVs worth over €26,000. Gardaí identified Byrne and Higgins from CCTV footage and found their fingerprints on bottles in the offices. On July 18, 2026, Judge Martin Nolan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court sentenced Byrne to consecutive terms totalling 51 months with the final nine months suspended, jailed Higgins for 21 months, and sentenced Ring to two years with the final six months suspended.

  1. Reportednot reported
  2. Arrestednot reported
  3. Chargednot reported
  4. In courtnot reported
  5. Verdictnot reported
  6. Sentenced18 Jul
    2 reports
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet

Key facts

consolidated from all reports
What happened
  • A spree of burglaries at unoccupied office properties in Dublin city centre involved ransacking offices and stealing electronic goods worth over €26,000.
  • Mark Byrne, 41, of North Circular Road, Dublin 7, pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary; Patrick Higgins, 35, of North Circular Road, Dublin 7, pleaded guilty to one count; and Nikita Ring, 34, of Poplar Row, Dublin 3, pleaded guilty to one count.
  • At Parnell Square, Byrne entered at 11.30pm, returned with Higgins at 4.30am, and they left at 6am with bags of stolen goods including monitors and keyboards worth €14,700.
  • At Baggot Street, Ring peered through the window while Byrne entered and left with bags of stolen goods, and she was caught by builders found to be intoxicated and high on cocaine.
  • At Eden Quay, Byrne entered a business suite with an unidentified accomplice around 9.30pm on February 13, left at 1.30am with seven shopping bags, and returned with another man around 3am for a further four hours.
Where
The burglaries took place at premises in Parnell Square, Baggot Street Lower, and Eden Quay in Dublin city centre.
When
The offences occurred between February and July 2025, with specific incidents on February 5 to 6, February 13, and July 12.
Investigation
Gardaí identified Byrne and Higgins from CCTV footage and their fingerprints were found on bottles in the offices.
In court
The three were sentenced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court by Judge Martin Nolan on July 18, 2026.
Sentence
Byrne was sentenced to consecutive terms totalling 51 months with the final nine months suspended, backdated to when he went into custody; Higgins was jailed for 21 months; and Ring was sentenced to two years with the final six months suspended.
Other details
  • Byrne had more than 150 previous convictions including five for burglary and 10 for aggravated burglary, and Ring had 96 previous convictions.
  • Ring had a childhood marked by extreme adversity, periods of homelessness and addiction, and is on a methadone programme in custody, while Higgins had serious addiction issues but is now clean from drugs.
36 statements extracted from the articles
  • whatByrne burgled unoccupied premises in Dublin city centre, sometimes spending hours and leaving buildings in disarray (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatOn two occasions Byrne returned to a building bringing an accomplice to steal more goods (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatThe offices of a Dublin language school were ransacked with papers strewn, food and drink thrown, and fridges and freezers left open (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatComputer monitors and keyboards were stolen to a value of €14,700 (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatByrne was seen on CCTV entering at 11.30pm, returning with Higgins at 4.30am, and they left at 6am with bags of stolen goods (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatRing's role was peering through the window while Byrne entered and left with bags of stolen goods (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatRing was caught by builders and found to be intoxicated and high on cocaine (irishmirror.ie, dublinlive.ie)
  • whatByrne entered a business suite in Eden Quay with an unidentified accomplice around 9.30pm on February 13 (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatThey left at 1.30am with seven shopping bags and Byrne returned with another man around 3am for a further four hours (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatThe Eden Quay offices were ransacked with blood on the floor, toilet bleach poured around, and a large plant upended (irishmirror.ie)
  • investigationBoth men were identified from CCTV footage and their fingerprints were found on bottles in the offices (irishmirror.ie)
  • investigationGardaí identified both Byrne and Higgins from CCTV footage and their fingerprints were found on bottles in the offices. (dublinlive.ie)
  • chargeByrne pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary at Parnell Square, Baggot Street Lower and Eden Quay between February and July 2025 (irishmirror.ie)
  • chargeHiggins pleaded guilty to burglary at Parnell Square between February 5 and 6 (irishmirror.ie)
  • chargeRing pleaded guilty to the Baggot Street burglary on July 12 (irishmirror.ie)
  • sentenceJudge Nolan jailed Higgins for 21 months (irishmirror.ie)
  • sentenceJudge Nolan sentenced Ring to two years' imprisonment with the final six months suspended (irishmirror.ie, dublinlive.ie)
  • sentenceJudge Nolan jailed Higgins for 21 months for the Parnell Square offence. (dublinlive.ie)
  • sentenceJudge Nolan set consecutive sentences totalling 51 months for Byrne and suspended the final nine months on conditions, backdating the sentence to when he went into custody. (dublinlive.ie)
  • otherMark Byrne had more than 150 previous convictions (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherHiggins had serious addiction issues but is now clean from drugs and doing well in custody (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherRing has 96 previous convictions (irishmirror.ie, dublinlive.ie)
  • otherRing had a childhood marked by extreme adversity, periods of homelessness and addiction, and is on a methadone programme in custody (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherMark Byrne, 41, of North Circular Road, Dublin 7, pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary. (dublinlive.ie)
  • otherByrne had more than 150 previous convictions. (dublinlive.ie)
  • otherPatrick Higgins, 35, of North Circular Road, Dublin 7, pleaded guilty to burglary at Parnell Square between February 5 and 6. (dublinlive.ie)
  • otherNikita Ring, 34, of Poplar Row, Dublin 3, pleaded guilty to burglary at Baggot Street on July 12. (dublinlive.ie)
  • otherThe offices of a Dublin language school at Parnell Square were ransacked, with papers strewn around, food and drink thrown everywhere, and fridges and freezers left open. (dublinlive.ie)
  • otherComputer monitors and keyboards were stolen from the Parnell Square offices to the value of €14,700. (dublinlive.ie)
  • otherByrne was seen on CCTV entering the Parnell Square building at 11.30pm, returning with Higgins at 4.30am, and leaving at 6am with bags of stolen goods. (dublinlive.ie)
  • otherAt Baggot Street, Ring peered through the window while Byrne entered and left with bags of stolen goods. (dublinlive.ie)
  • otherAt Eden Quay, Byrne entered a business suite with an unidentified accomplice around 9.30pm on February 13 and left at 1.30am with seven shopping bags. (dublinlive.ie)
  • otherThe Eden Quay offices were found ransacked with blood on the floor, toilet bleach poured around, and a large plant upended. (dublinlive.ie)
  • otherTVs, laptops and monitors were removed from the Eden Quay offices, with property stolen worth €11,900 and clean-up costing €1,500. (dublinlive.ie)
  • otherOnly one TV was recovered from the Eden Quay burglary. (dublinlive.ie)
  • otherAmong Byrne's convictions are five for burglary and 10 for aggravated burglary. (dublinlive.ie)

The reporting

newest first
  1. 18 Jul2026
    Sentenceddublinlive.ie, first report
    Three sentenced over spree of burglaries at Dublin offices

    Reports the sentencing of three defendants for a series of burglaries at unoccupied office properties in Dublin city centre, including details of the ransacking, CCTV identification, and the sentences imposed by Judge Martin Nolan.

    convicted, Mark Byrne, 41, male, named, irish (judged from name)Mark Byrneconvicted, Patrick Higgins, 35, male, named, irish (judged from name)Patrick Higginsconvicted, Nikita Ring, 34, female, named, non-irish (judged from name)Nikita Ring
  2. 18 Jul2026
    Sentencedirishmirror.ie, follow-up
    Three sentenced over spree of burglaries at Dublin offices

    Provides full sentencing details for all three defendants, including CCTV evidence, descriptions of the ransacked offices, stolen goods values, prior convictions, and mitigation evidence for each.

    suspect, Mark Byrne, 41, male, named, irish (judged from name)Mark Byrnesuspect, Patrick Higgins, 35, male, named, irish (judged from name)Patrick Higginssuspect, Nikita Ring, 34, female, named, non-irish (judged from name)Nikita Ring