A man who appeared in an RTE television documentary about prisoners playing gaelic football has been jailed for handling a stolen agricultural trailer worth €4,000 in Letterkenny.
Charlie Coyle, 63, appeared on ‘Gaelic in the Joy’, a television show featuring prisoners playing alongside former Dublin GAA star Philly McMahon and comedian Rory O’Connor.
Coyle appeared at Letterkenny District Court in Co Donegal after pleading guilty to being found in possession of a stolen agricultural trailer knowing it was stolen.
Coyle, with an address at Bough, Cootehill in Cavan, is already serving eight years in jail after being caught with €2.5M of cocaine in his van.
He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of the drugs for sale or supply in Lusk on 24 April, 2020.
Coyle, who is originally from Dublin, appeared at the court in Letterkenny wearing a Dublin GAA shirt.
The court heard the trailer which Coyle was in possession of was the property of David Connors Machinery and Trailers in Milford.
Solicitor for Coyle, Mr Rory O’Brien, told the court that his client did not know the trailer had been stolen.
He told the court that his client was currently serving a sentence for another matter and was not due to be released until 2027.
The court was told that Coyle has a number of previous convictions.
He said his client was sorry for what had happened.
Mr O’Brien added “he has asked me to convey to the court that if he was not in custody serving a lengthy sentence, he would have been able to secure funds by way of compensation.”
Judge Eiteain Cunningham said she would give Coyle credit for the early plea of guilty he had tendered to the court.
However, she added that she had to be cognisant of his previous convictions.
She sentenced him to seven months in prison.
Fitness fanatic Coyle was one of the oldest inmates to appear in the three part television show which saw inmates eventually play a game against prison officers.