A judge has decided not to jail a Dublin man who stole thousands of euro from a charity he set up to send sick children to Lapland.

John Cornelius Murphy of Church Road in Killiney was handed a fully suspended sentence on condition he stops fundraising for the next three years.

He was also ordered to divide the money he stole between two other charities to “right the wrong he did”.

In 2010, John Murphy lodged four cheques totalling just over €18,600 from the Children to Lapland Appeal into his own personal account.

He set the charity up in 1987 but it was liquidated in 2012.

He later claimed he also used this personal account for his travel agent business, which subsidised the charity.

Despite this, the jury decided he wasn’t entitled to take money from the charity for his own benefit and found him guilty on all four counts of theft.

At his sentence hearing last week, his barrister pleaded for leniency. He said his client had no previous convictions, a good work record and was in poor health.

Judge Patrick McCartan questioned whether John, or Con as he’s otherwise known, appreciated the seriousness of what he did.

He described the crime as a “mean-spirited offence” and felt he had to impose a sentence that would act as a deterrent to others.

He was given time to find the money to “right the wrong he did” and it was made available to the court today.

Detective Davoren gave evidence of Mr. Murphy’s dealings with another charity he set up called the MAKE IT HAPPEN FOUNDATION, which sends children on day trips around Ireland.

He said two of its directors have distanced themselves from it because of their concerns over the way its finances were being handled.

In handing down a three year suspended sentence, Judge McCartan said he’d grave misgivings about Mr. Murphy’s continued behaviour and ordered him not to engage in any fundraising during that time.

He was also instructed to pay half the money he stole to the Barretstown children’s charity and the rest to the children’s hospital in Crumlin.