A burglar was wearing a Yankees baseball cap he had stolen from a priest’s house when gardaí arrested him hours after the break-in.

Michael McDonald (44) also had a purse with the word Lourdes on it, and containing €660, on it when gardaí arrested him.

Mr McDonald of Cloonmore Park, Tallaght pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to burglary at The Parochial House, Cherry Orchard Avenue, Cheery Orchard on August 15th, 2013.

Judge Patricia Ryan adjourned sentencing to next July and ordered McDonald to keep the peace and engage with victim empathy programmes.

Fr Sean Duggan had spent the evening in Dublin city centre and arrived home to find the front door of the house unlocked and a window in the side room shattered. He saw a man coming down the stairs and started to ring 999.

He told Mr McDonald he had called gardaí and the intruder told him he didn’t want any trouble.

Mr McDonald left through through the broken window.

The priest found all the rooms in the house had been ransacked and the items taken included a Lourdes purse with cash in it and a Yankees cap.

He gave gardaí a description of the burglar, who he had clearly seen. They arrested him shortly after and he was wearing the Yankees cap and had the stolen purse.

Mr McDonald admitted everything to gardaí that night and apologised to the priest.

He has 27 previous convictions and was sentenced to three years for robbery and assault offences in 2002.

Keith Spencer, defending, said his client was born into the Travelling community and exposed to violence and alcohol and abuse from a very young age.

He said the father of five has a son who has managed to break out of this cycle.