A HUSBAND AND wife from Co Monaghan have been sentenced to three months in prison over animal cruelty.

Patrick Connolly (67) and his wife Bernie Connolly (64) of Alderwood, Carrickmacross appeared before Monaghan District Court on Monday.

The court heard how a neighbour reported the theft of her cat to gardaí at Carrickmacross Garda Station on 13 May 2025.

CCTV captured Patrick Connolly lifting the cat from his patio next door.

The footage showed Mr Connolly shaking a white bag in his back garden and later leaving his property with the bag, along with his wife.

The court heard how the pair returned home a short time later empty handed.

Further CCTV footage was obtained after gardaí searched Connolly’s property.

The footage showed that the cat was trapped in the kitchen.

Patrick Connolly was captured placing the cat into a white bag and his wife Bernie tied it with a string.

The couple then left the property.

After initially stating to gardaí that they had no knowledge of ever seeing the cat, the couple later admitted that they left the cat at Creevy lake, a few miles outside Carrickmacross.

The owners found the cat three days later in a very poor condition but still alive.

Sara Brennan BL, for Patrick and Bernie Connolly, told the court that the cat had been coming into the Connolly’s garden on a regular basis and defecating in it.

The court heard that Bernie Connolly gave up work a number of years earlier to take care of her grandchildren, and that the children had been coming into the house on a number of occasions with cat dirt on their shoes and hands.

Ms Brennan said that the couple had approached their neighbours a few times to ask if they could keep the cat out of their garden, but this was to no avail.

She said it was accepted that her clients did something that was “exceptionally foolish” and that they “realised the seriousness of their misjudgement.”

She said the couple were offering a very fulsome apology and had €1,000 with them to offer in compensation for their actions.

During Monday’s court hearing, Judge Raymond Finnegan ordered that the Connollys be kept in the court’s prison cell while he reflected on the matter.

He told the defendants “you can see how you feel being trapped for a while”.

Judge Finnegan said he could not see a way of avoiding a prison sentence.

Judge Finnegan sentenced both Patrick and Bernie Connolly to three months imprisonment on the animal cruelty charge, with the theft charge taken into consideration.

They were granted leave for appeal, with recognisances for appeal of the sentence set at €250 in cash in both instances.

This article first appeared on Northern Sound