The Sunday World can reveal Jackie O’Duffy McDonnell was arrested by gardaí in Tralee, Co Kerry, after she failed a roadside intoxicant test
The Sunday World can reveal Jackie O’Duffy McDonnell was arrested by gardaí on Saturday in Tralee, Co Kerry, after she failed a roadside intoxicant test.
In a statement, a spokesperson told this newspaper: “Gardaí arrested a woman in her 40s on suspicion of driving under the influence of an intoxicant while conducting a mandatory intoxicant checkpoint in Tralee in Co. Kerry on Saturday 23rd August 2025 at 2pm.
“She has since been released without charge pending the results of analysis of a specimen, provided in accordance with the Road Traffic Act, from the Medical Bureau of Road Safety.”
A source said analysis of a specimen usually takes between several days to a period of two weeks with the results determining whether or not an offence has occurred and whether a prosecution may ensue.
Jackie O’Duffy McDonnell’s husband Nathan
The Sunday World called to O’Duffy McDonnell’s luxury gated four-bedroom home outside Tralee on Wednesday in an attempt to speak with her but was unable to make contact.
No intercom was visible to allow conversation with the occupant of the house while the letterbox was locked meaning our reporter was unable to leave contact details.
On Friday, O’Duffy McDonnell’s solicitor Padraig O’Connell said his client “will not be making any comment at this time”.
O’Duffy McDonnell stepped into the breach to take up a role of director of her husband’s food empire after he was charged with conspiracy to ship €32.8 million of crystal meth through Ireland and onto Australia.
Jackie O’Duffy McDonnell and Nathan McDonnell
News in 90 Seconds – Sunday, August 31
Company filings show O’Duffy McDonnell was officially appointed to the position of director of Smaash Burgers Ltd on March 9.
This occurred within weeks of Ballyseedy Restaurant Ltd, her husband’s former company, informing staff and suppliers it was to cease trading with the business being transferred to Smaash Burgers Ltd. The debts to suppliers would not be carried over.
Speaking after her husband Nathan was jailed for 12 years in February when pleading guilty to helping import €32 million worth of crystal meth into Ireland, O’Duffy McDonnell said she was 100 per cent standing by him and still loves him.
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Jackie O’Duffy McDonnell says she supports her husband Nathan
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In an interview with the Mail on Sunday, she said she believed her husband was seized by a “moment of madness”, when he agreed to take part in the criminal scheme.
“I’m devastated. The sentencing of a man you are in love with is awful. I am standing by him 100pc.”
Garden centre owner Nathan McDonnell’s trial had heard how he helped the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel move €32million worth of the highly-addictive synthetic drug by storing a machine on his business premises.
He had stored the equipment at his Ballyseedy garden centre and restaurant premises for several months before gardaí acting on intelligence swooped on the port of Cork in February 2024 before it could be shipped out of the jurisdiction.
The Special Criminal Court heard the former head of the local chamber of commerce and pillar of the Tralee community had been struggling with debts in his business.
McDonnell had suffered a broken jaw in a vicious attack while he was in Portlaoise Prison awaiting sentence after pleading guilty to his role in the operation.
O’Duffy McDonnell, who has three sons with her husband, continued: “This was not in my life plan, God no. It’s a blow, it’s what we’ve been dealt with. It is what it is.
“I have to think about what is best for the boys. The whole thing has been horrific from start to finish but so long as he [Nathan] is okay and the boys are okay, that’s all I can hope for.”
The Special Criminal Court found the once-respected business owner was “committed to and invested in” the success of a €32m crystal meth operation by an organised crime group with links to the notorious Mexican Sinaloa Cartel.
McDonnell, who had encountered “fierce financial difficulties” and racked up debts of €4m, was to be paid €150,000 by the Irish gang to store a machine containing the drugs on his premises and arrange for its export to Australia.
Sentencing McDonnell (44) at the non-jury court, presiding judge Ms Justice Melanie Greally said to describe the defendant as “a mere cog in the wheel” was to undervalue his role.
She said McDonnell had carried out several tasks which demanded a high level of trust and responsibility for the criminal gang, including paying shipping charges, safely storing the drugs for four months and using a family contact to help with export requirements.
The judge said the defendant had deceived a legitimate business owner and took responsibility for a forged invoice to facilitate the onward shipment of the machine concealing the drugs. She noted he was “committed to and invested in” the success of the venture”.
Jackie O’Duffy McDonnell
The judge said the court could not find evidence that he was under duress when he first chose to embark on the venture.