A burglar who was wearing a Yankees baseball cap he had stolen from a priest's house when gardaí arrested him has received a suspended prison sentence.

44-year-old Michael McDonald Cloonmore Park, Tallaght, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to burglary at The Parochial House, Cherry Orchard on August 15 2013.

Fr Sean Duggan had arrived home that evening to find the front door of the house unlocked and a window in the side room shattered.

As he called the police, 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.

Judge Patricia Ryan suspended a prison term of one year for a period of three years, on condition that McDonald keep the peace and continue to undergo drug treatment with the Probation Services.