A bank robber who said he used a banger to frighten a cashier so he could get money to take his son to Funderland has been jailed for five years.

James Foley was described in court by James Dwyer, defending, as “a poster child for rehabilitation” after he was released seven years early from a previous jail term because of his good behaviour in prison.

Foley (42), McCarthy’s Terrace, Rialto, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to stealing €6,950 from Ulster Bank, Camden Street on January 6th, 2011, and stealing €3,310 from Bank of Ireland, Rathfarnham Shopping Centre, on May 3rd, 2011.

Foley told gardaí during interview that he wanted money to buy his son an overdue Christmas present and take him to Funderland. He said the child had been complaining that he had not given him anything for Christmas.