The Daily Star Ireland
A Dublin man has been handed a seven-year prison sentence after hijacking a car with a five-month-old baby still inside. The incident occurred on 23 September 2024 in Mountjoy Square, shaking the community and sparking an urgent search effort.
Shocking Abduction and Swift Rescue
Noel Ryan, 48, who has no fixed address in Dublin, pleaded guilty to hijacking a vehicle and abducting a child. The court heard that the baby was left alone for nearly three hours after the car was stolen. Ryan, who has 41 previous convictions, including offences related to theft, burglary, traffic, and drugs, was said to have been struggling with addiction at the time.
Judge Martin Nolan, in delivering the sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, stated that the child’s parents suffered an unimaginable ordeal. While acknowledging Ryan’s addiction struggles and his apparent shame and remorse, the judge emphasized that his actions were reckless. A headline sentence of nine and a half years was considered, but due to his early guilty plea and lack of intent to harm the child, the sentence was reduced to seven years, backdated to the start of Ryan’s custody.
According to Detective Garda Paul Griffin, the baby’s mother had parked her car and was preparing a buggy when she noticed Ryan enter the vehicle. Despite her attempts to stop him—holding onto the door and screaming—Ryan drove off, dragging her briefly before she fell. Her phone and handbag were also in the car.
The abduction triggered a “Child Rescue Ireland” alert. Gardaí launched a citywide search, deploying ground units and air support. Approximately two hours later, two civilians guided a garda to an alley known for abandoned vehicles. There, the car was found. Inside, the baby sat crying and distressed in a rear-facing seat. A garda comforted the child and tried to calm it using a brown teddy bear.
Admissions, Regret, and Victim Impact
Twelve minutes after the car was taken, Ryan used a stolen credit card from the mother at a nearby shop. CCTV helped identify him, and he was arrested the next day. In his sixth interview, Ryan claimed he had no idea a baby was inside and had driven to find someone to call the police.
Victim impact statements were delivered in court by both parents. The mother recounted feeling absolute terror and helplessness, expressing lasting trauma from the ordeal. The father described it as the worst day of his life, haunted by guilt and fear during the hours his child was missing. He said their daughter’s first year would always carry the shadow of that event.
Ryan’s defence counsel, John Byrne SC, stated that his client did not intend to abduct a child and was driven by addiction rather than malicious intent. He highlighted Ryan’s genuine remorse and early plea, adding that Ryan wished he had done more to correct his actions after realizing the child was in the car.
While Judge Nolan accepted that Ryan may not have known about the baby at first, he criticized the lack of immediate action to make the car easier to find. Nevertheless, he acknowledged the mitigating factors and the absence of a sinister motive, ultimately imposing a seven-year term for a crime that shocked both the public and law enforcement alike.
