Mr Fishy sunk: violent offender facing 15.5-year stint after he provided getaway cars for gangland shooting

Patrick Fitzgerald, a 48-year-old from Glenties in County Donegal known as 'Mr Fishy', has been sentenced to 15.5 years in prison following his conviction at the Central Criminal Court for facilitating a gangland shooting in Dublin. Justice Eileen Creedon imposed a seven-year custodial sentence to run consecutively with an existing 7.5-year sentence imposed in February 2025 for aggravated burglary arising from a separate violent home invasion. Fitzgerald pleaded guilty to participating in the activities of a criminal organisation between November 2021, with intent to facilitate a serious offence. The court heard that he purchased two vehicles through an online platform and provided them as getaway cars following an attempted murder at Ballyfermot Crescent in Dublin on 17 November 2021. The victim, Dublin man Gary Carey, sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his torso but initially survived the attack. He died in August 2022 from injuries sustained in a subsequent assault. In determining sentence, Justice Creedon noted the involvement of an international drug smuggling operation and considered the profound and lasting impact on the victim's family, including their decision to relocate abroad. The conviction builds on Fitzgerald's troubling criminal trajectory. In February 2025, he was sentenced for his role in an aggravated burglary at a family home in Monkstown, County Dublin on 23 August 2023, during which an elderly couple and their relatives, including a six-year-old child, were subjected to extreme violence. The homeowner was struck with a metal bar requiring 13 staples, and a family member was dragged by her hair during the ordeal. Fitzgerald was arrested in December 2021 and exercised his right to silence during questioning. He carries 72 previous convictions. The sentencing concludes proceedings adjourned from May 2025, when victim impact evidence was heard.