Laois Woman And Father-In-Law Convicted Over Fake Passport Application

35 year old Mary Cash, formerly of Harpurs Lane, Portlaoise was handed a suspended two and half year sentence.

A Laois woman and her father in-law have been convicted for their involvement in obtaining a fake passport for an on-the-run family member.

35 year old Mary Cash, formerly of Harpurs Lane, Portlaoise, and 58 year old Andrew Cash Senior of Whitechurch Heights, Rathfarnham,Dublin 16 both pleaded guilty to providing the Irish Passport Services with information or documents that were known to be false or misleading.

Red flags were raised within the passport office when an application in the name of Martin Connors was requested, according to Breakingnews.ie.

The office used software to check the passport images and found that they belonged to Andrew Cash Junior, the son of Cash Snr and husband of Mary Cash. 

The application form had been stamped by a senior member of the gardaí, who then became the focal point of the investigation.

A relationship between the garda and Cash Snr was discovered, and devices seized showed communication between the two, including on the morning the application was handed in.

That senior officer is now before the courts and cannot be named.

Cash Snr, who has 31 prior convictions, was arrested, detained, interviewed and entered a guilty plea.

Mary Cash was arrested after the investigation revealed she travelled to Sligo to obtain the birth certificate for 'Martin Connors'.

Cash Snr's defence said his client has amassed no convictions since 2020 and had endured a difficult childhood.

Defence for Mary Cash said her role was small within a larger criminal enterprise - she delivered a letter of apology and asked the court to allow her to continue her role in caring for the children.

For Cash Snr, Judge Roderick Maguire set a headline sentence of four and a half years, which he reduced after considering mitigating factors to one of three years and suspended the final 12 months.

Judge Maguire gave her a suspended two and half year sentence, noting she was an exceptional mother and aunt.