Northern Ireland

Two men admit burglaries of parochial houses

The parochial house at St Michael the Archangel Church in west Belfast was among those targeted. Picture by Arthur Allison
The parochial house at St Michael the Archangel Church in west Belfast was among those targeted. Picture by Arthur Allison The parochial house at St Michael the Archangel Church in west Belfast was among those targeted. Picture by Arthur Allison

TWO men accused of robbing a priest and a retired sacristan and his wife at gunpoint have pleaded guilty to a string of burglaries across Belfast, Tyrone and Co Down.

Owen Maughan (37), previously with an address at a campsite on the Glen Road in west Belfast but now at Maghaberry jail, and Patrick Maughan (33), of Birchdale Manor in Lurgan, Co Armagh, admitted their guilt before Downpatrick Crown Court yesterday.

Owen Maughan pleaded to nine offences including aggravated burglary of the parochial house at St Peter's Cathedral in west Belfast and the false imprisonment of Fr Peter Carlin on July 13 2015.

Two intruders, one armed with a gun, broke into the house and stole cash, jewellery and electronic devices.

Both men also pleaded guilty to a catalogue of crimes between July 22 and 24 last year.

They included aggravated burglaries at St Michael the Archangel's parochial house on Finaghy Road North in west Belfast, a property on the Circular Road in Dungannon, Co Tyrone, and a house on Park Lane in Newcastle, Co Down, and attempted burglaries at St Colmcille's Church on My Lady's Road in Holywood and a house on Main Street, Castlewellan.

They also admitted to the burglary of the private staff area of the Around a Pound shop in Newcastle.

Owen Maughan meanwhile pleaded guilty to allowing himself to be carried in a stolen Hyundai car, while his co-accused admitted dangerous driving on roads between the Ormeau Road in Belfast and Umgall Road in Antrim, as well as the attempted possession of a firearm, resisting police, possession of cannabis and failing to stop after a road traffic accident.

Other charges of robbery and possession of weapons connected to both men were left on the books.

During the burglary at St Michael the Archangel, Fr Denis Ryan, a 70-year-old priest from Australia providing holiday cover, was threatened by two men who ransacked the parochial house and stole cash and keys.

Later that night, a former sacristan and his wife were threatened and held at gunpoint during an aggravated burglary at their home on Circular Road in Dungannon.

The couple lived next door to the parochial house for Dungannon, leading to speculation that they may have been targeted by mistake.

The Maughans were arrested in July 2016 after police chased a stolen Hyundai from Saintfield Road in Co Down to the Seven Mile Straight in Co Antrim.

Remanding the pair back into custody yesterday, Judge Piers Grant adjourned passing sentence until next month.