A former solicitor has been jailed for two years for stealing over €275,000 from clients over a four year period to fund a number of pubs that he was operating.

Mark Cronin with an address at New Street, Macroom pleaded guilty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court to six counts of theft and two counts of forgery.

The thefts came to light in 2012 when a couple told gardai they had handed over 170 thousand euro in cheques and bank drafts to Cronin who was representing them in a house purchase.

However, the money was never paid over to the vendor's solicitor.