A Buncrana man who stole a portable pizza oven has been sentenced to 50 hours community service.
Damien McDaid, 53, appeared before Letterkenny District Court having been remanded in custody because Gardai could not get an a
Sergeant Jim Collins told the court that May 23, 2026 at 7.58am, Gardai received a call from management at SuperValu, Cockhill Road, Buncrana. They reported that a man took a portable pizza oven, valued at €149.99, from the store.
The portable pizza oven was recovered by staff, but McDaid was said to have been “very abusive” during an interaction with workers.
McDaid was charged with a theft contrary to section 4 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 and also with using or engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to provoke a breach of the peace or being reckless as to whether a breach of the peace might have been occasioned. That charge is contrary to section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act, 1994 as amended by Section 22 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 2008
He was also charged in relation to incidents earlier in May.
On May 15, 2026, McDaid entered Gill’s Filling Station and stole cigarettes valued at €19.50. He told someone working in the shop that another person would pay for the cigarettes when they arrived.
On another date, McDaid returned to the same location, took €60 worth of petrol and cigarettes valued at €17.75. Again, he said that someone else would pay for them, but the items were not paid for.
McDaid was found driving a vehicle on May 16, 2026 and Gardai detected that he was not insured. He made admissions to officers that he had no insurance when they spoke to him.
Mr Dorrian said his client’s pattern of behaviour is as a result of him being rendered homeless and he became “ever more desperate, hopeless effectively”.
Mr Dorrian said that McDaid had been sleeping rough and he acquired a motor vehicle which was “effectively his home for a number of days”.
Regarding the incident at SuperValu, Mr Dorrian said there was a “degree of absurdity” to it.
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He said: “It was a fruitless activity and didn’t have any basis in reality. It was doomed to fail.
The staff could not but notice what was going on.”
Mr Dorrian said McDaid is “trapped by his circumstances” and added that his client needs some assistance.
Judge Daly told Mr Dorrian that McDaid would be convicted. She said it is a “difficult situation” and asked for a community service assessment to be prepared for McDaid before passing sentence.
An adjourned sitting of the court was told that the Probation Service had deemed McDaid suitable for community service.
Solicitor Frank Dorrian said his client had found himself living homeless and was sleeping in his car.
He stressed that McDaid had no previous convictions but had been growing ever more desperate in “terms of his own welfare and ability to fend for himself.”
He said there was a large degree of absurdity to the theft of the pizza oven which was of no use to him, adding that it was irrational to say the least.
Judge Emile Daly asked if the accused had managed to find a place to live and Mr Dorrian said that he was hoping to do so with friends or with his sister.
She added that such a charge would not normally attract a prison sentence and said it was a targedt that the situation had come this far.
She sentenced McDaid to one month in prison on each charge with all sentences to run concurrently.
However, she replaced the prison sentence with a total of 50 hours community service in lieu of any prison sentence.
The accused thanked the Judge, the Gardai and the Probation Services for their help.