Man who stole over €250 from Buncrana church is jailed

A man who was caught with bolt cutters and cash he could not account for after a church was broken into in Buncrana has been jailed for three months.

Gheorghe Zoltan appeared at Letterkenny District Court accompanied by prison officers.

The 49-year-old is already serving a suspended prison sentence for breaking into churches in both the Cork and Kerry areas.

Zoltan, a Romanian national who has been living in Ireland since 2022, was charged with stealing property, the property of Fr Francis Bradley.

The charge is contrary to Section 4 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and fraud Offences) Act, 2001.

It follows a break-in to St Mary's Oratory in Buncrana on January 26, 2026.

Garda Sergeant Jim Collins told the court that Gardai had received a report that St Mary's Church had been broken into and that a number of collection boxes had been stolen.

While on patrol, Gardai came across Zoltan and another man at an Applegreen Filling Station.

When searched, the men were in possession of a bolt-cutters and more than €250 in cash which they could not account for.

CCTV from the church was examined and it showed Zoltan and another man in the church.

Sergeant Collins told the court that it took the men seven minutes and 20 seconds to remove cash from church envelopes.

When charged by Gardai, the court was told that Zoltan replied: "I'm sorry about this."

Solicitor for the accused, Mr Patsy Gallagher, said his client was a "patsy" in the case and that he was with another person who appeared to have more influence.

He asked the court to consider his client's full and frank admission, his social background and his deep remorse.

"He is very apologetic for his actions and he is very embarrassed. He has been on remand on these charges since he was arrested," added Mr Gallagher.

Judge Emile Daly asked Mr Gallagher if his client was working and was told no.

When asked if there was a reason why he wasn't working, the solicitor replied that there was a difficulty with the language barrier.

Mr Gallagher also said there were "difficulties with certain nationalities getting work in certain areas."

Judge Daly replied that it didn't help when people were stealing from churches.

Judge Daly sentenced Zoltan to three months in prison.