Carol Hawkins, the former personal assistant of U2 bassist Adam Clayton, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for stealing almost €3 million of his earnings.

Hawkins, of Lower Rathmines Road in Dublin, was last week convicted of 181 counts of theft over a four year period from 2004 to 2008, during which time she stole over €2.8 million of his money.

Hawkins had refused to plead guilty to the charges which most likely led to the relatively large prison sentence.

Judge McCartan said of Ms. Hawkins after the sentencing: "nothing, frankly, could explain away the scale of dishonesty other than the greed in pursuit of a lavish lifestyle that was no responsibility of Mr. Clayton's. These crimes were rooted in greed and nothing else. Whether she was a fool or a clever person really matters very little."

Clayton was not in court today to hear the sentencing.