A DUBLIN man who committed two further armed raids on bail after he was caught stealing £24,000 from the FAI headquarters in 1994 has been jailed for a total of 18 years by Judge Gerard Buchanan.
"It is hard to find justification for a system which allows armed robbers who are caught in the act to stand out on bail," the judge told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Addressing the defendant, John Flanagan, he added: "While none of the staff robbed in these crimes were personally assaulted, it is clear victims of armed robbery suffer considerable fright and trauma."
Det Garda Joseph Crowe said minutes before the Ireland-Liechtenstein home international on October 12th, 1994, Flanagan and his accomplice raided the soccer headquarters.
They pointed imitation guns at armed gardai who confronted them as they left. After a struggle, both men were arrested.
The raiders had held 15 FAI staff members at gunpoint while they robbed the proceeds of ticket sales for the Lansdowne Road match from the FAI accountant, Mr Michael Morris, Det Garda Crowe told Mr Tom O'Connell, prosecuting.
Flanagan made a statement of admission, and on March 23rd, 1995, the District Court released him on bail. He failed to appear for his trial and in August and September 1995 he was involved in two other serious robberies.
On September 25th, 1995, members of the specialist Garda Cobra Unit surrounded a building and arrested Flanagan and another man shortly after £20,000 was taken from the West County Hotel in Chapelizod. The money, guns, false beards and other disguises were recovered.
Flanagan (37) and married, of Fortlawn Avenue, Dublin, pleaded guilty to his part in the robbery at the FAI headquarters in Merrion Square; robbery of £3,360 from the post office at Villa Park Gardens in Cabra on August 2nd, 1995 and the raid at the West County Hotel.
He was given four years jail for the FAI robbery and he got two concurrent eight-year terms for the other raids. The eight-year sentences are to start at the completion of the 10-year sentence.
Det Garda Crowe said Hanagan had 18 previous convictions. In 1989 he was jailed for a total of six years for robberies and possessing drugs and he also had an earlier 1983 robbery conviction for which he received five years jail.
Last January, Joseph Morrison (31) of Ballygall Parade, Dublin, was jailed for 10 years for his role in the FAI robbery and three other armed raids.
Det Garda Crowe said that at about 3.15 p.m. staff members in the FAI stopped selling tickets, closed up and ordered a taxi to bring them to the match.
Minutes later the raiders arrived. Morrison was dressed as a courier, Flanagan was disguised with a wig and glasses and both carried replica firearms.
They tied up some staff and one raider forced the FAI treasurer, Mr Joe Delaney, to bring him to Mr Morris's office where he took the money from a safe.
But unknown to the raiders, some staff members had escaped and alerted gardai who confronted them as they tried to leave.
Sgt Eamon O'Grady said an off-duty garda became suspicious of Flanagan and another man as they went into Drummond House flats in Chapelizod on September 25th, 1995. He noted both men were wearing false beards.
At the same time as the off-duty garda contacted Garda Control, news broke of the armed raid moments earlier on the West County Hotel. Members of the Cobra Squad rushed to the scene, surrounded the flats and arrested Flanagan and his accomplice.
Det Garda Oisin McGeown said that a month earlier Flanagan and a second man armed with a sawn-off shotgun entered the Cabra post office. Flanagan smashed the security video camera and his accomplice put the gun to the postmistress's leg and threatened to shoot her if they weren't given money.