Life

Share
Published 12:45 15 Feb 2013 GMT

There’s an old saying that states you should never judge a person by their family, which is lucky for the Taoiseach because his nephew has just been jailed for an absolute litany of crimes.
The Irish Independent reports that Kevin Hastings, from Westport in county Mayo, was sent to jail for seven months for burglary, stealing cars and driving while under the influence of drugs. He also nicked a crate of Dutch Gold from a Tesco (you’d think he would’ve gone for the more expensive stuff...).
Anyway, Kevin was reportedly a talented rugby player who had a promising sporting career ahead of him. However, the court was told that the young man had been “on a self-destructive path” as a result of his drug use.
The court was also told how losing his grandmother two years ago had a serious impact on Kevin because he was very close to her.
“In his own words he has said that sometimes he feels like a man and sometimes he feels like a 10-year-old boy,” Kevin’s solicitor told the court.
![]()
The last straw came when Kevin stole a crate of Dutch Gold from a Tesco store
In Feburary 2011, Kevin, who is the son of Enda Kenny’s sister, was charged with unlawful entry of a house and the theft of a small sum of money. On a later date that month he was also charged with stealing two cans of sider from a local Central.
In March 2011, he was charged with entering the home of a local man and taking car keys. He then went driving while under the influence of benzodiazepines. He had no licence or insurance at the time.
Two months later, he unlawfully entered a home again, stole car keys and went driving without a licence or insurance. He also caused criminal damage to a wall of a local house and stole a mountain bike.
Finally, in May 2012, Kevin was charged with stealing a crate of Dutch Gold from a Tesco store.
The majority of Kevin’s crimes were committed when he was 15 or 16, but he’s 18 now and has been charged as an adult. He will now spend seven months in St Patrick’s Institution in Dublin and has been disqualified from driving for four years.
He is planning to complete his Leaving Cert once his sentence is over and go to college. His family has released a statement asking for privacy at this time.