Don’t alert the burglars with your holiday pix
A former broadcaster and barrister has re-iterated the Garda warning to people leaving their home empty on holidays – to not post photos that would alert burglars to their absence.
Cynthia Ní Mhurchú was reacting to new figures provided by the Irish Courts Service, which showed that Galway alone saw a total of 29 burglary cases come before the District and Circuit Courts during the first nine months of 2025.
Over, there were 1,187 people before the country’s District Courts over those nine months, with a further 347 people sent forward for trial in the Circuit Court.
The figures were provided to Ireland South MEP and former barrister, who said that, overall, they pointed to a relatively small group of repeat offenders responsible for a disproportionate share of burglary offences.
In the first nine months of 2025, 1,771 burglary cases came before the District Court, involving just 1,187 individuals — highlighting a high level of repeat or multiple offending.
A similar pattern emerged in the Circuit Court, where 729 burglary cases were tried over the same period, committed by just 529 offenders.
Dublin tops the table with 622 people coming before the District and Circuit Courts there for burglary in the first nine months of last year. Cork was next with a total of 95 – 75 of them at District Court level.
The MEP reiterated Garda calls on people to stop posting holiday pictures on social media, which advertise that they are not at home and also to look out for any suspicious vehicles or activity on their neighbours property – in particular in very rural parts of the country during the dark winter months – a peak time for the offence of burglary.
She also called for a range of measure to tackle burglary including an end to the practice of letting burglars out on temporary release from our prisons. The Irish Courts Service figures show that 38 burglars were on temporary release as of June 23 2025.
Pictured: Warning...Cynthia Ní Mhurchú.