A married man who deceived a young Co Louth widow he met at her husband’s wake into giving him more than €140,000 has been jailed for five years at Drogheda Circuit Court.
Peter McDonagh (32), a father of three, of Melville Way, Finglas, Dublin 11, pleaded guilty to dishonestly, by deception, inducing the woman to transfer amounts of between €2,000 and €10,000 to him on dates throughout 2024. The sums in total reached more than €140,000.
The court heard the victim first met McDonagh at her husband’s wake in September 2023, where he claimed to have been a friend of her late husband.
He also claimed to be an orphan and single, and they started communicating. By January 2024, she believed they were in a genuine romantic relationship.
The court heard he first asked her for money in January 2024, when she gave him €2,000 for a car as he said his had been taken by the Garda and he had nowhere to sleep.
The woman transferred further amounts to McDonagh after he claimed he needed money to cover family funeral expenses and pay off debts to what he said were dangerous people.
He also received €17,000 from the victim in July 2024, claiming he needed it to pay for cancer treatment in Birmingham. At the time he was on holiday in Barcelona with his wife and children.
On each occasion, the defendant had told her he would pay the money back, saying he was due an insurance payout.
The court heard the victim had met the defendant’s wife at Dublin Airport in October 2024. She told the victim they had been holidaying in Ireland, the UK and Spain on her money.
The victim later confronted the defendant who then told her there was no insurance claim and he had no money. He promised to repay the money in instalments but never did.
The victim then contacted the gardaí. The defendant was arrested at Dublin Airport in February 2025 as he was about to board a one-way flight to Manchester.
The court heard that when gardaí examined the defendant’s bank accounts they were empty and none of the complainant’s money was recovered.
In a victim impact statement, the young woman said she suffers severe anxiety, no longer feels safe and is unable to work.
She said she now lives with financial strain as the money she had was for her young daughter’s future.
Judge Sinéad McMullan was told that McDonagh, who was a one time juvenile Leinster boxing champion, had written a letter of apology for his actions.
The judge noted the gravity of the offending and the harm caused.
“This was a sustained course of offending involving multiple sums of money,” she said.
“Words are cheap and he made no effort to repay,” the judge added.
She sentenced the defendant to five years and three months with the final three months suspended for three years.
