Two Romanian nationals whose intention was to sell daffodils on national Daffodil Day and keep the money for themselves were convicted and fined at Ballinrobe District Court last Friday.
Ioan Muntean, Mount Carmel, Terryland Cross, Galway, and Gruia Rostas, 21 Brookdale, Headford Road, Galway, were observed by Ballinrobe gardaí at lunch time on Friday March 20 with bucketfuls of daffodils for sale.
Garda Niall Ward told the court that Rostas, who was selling the flowers outside Tesco, first told him that he was selling the daffodils for the cancer society, before he said that he was in fact selling them for a church in Romania. Finally the defendant admitted that he had no permit for such activity and that he was going to keep the proceeds. Rostas had not sold any daffodils before he was apprehended.
Muntean (29 ), who was selling daffodils on Main Street, had earlier bought the flowers for €10 from Lidl and had only sold one bunch before he was approached by gardaí.
Judge Mary Devins said that it was “bizarre” that both men travelled from Galway that day to sell flowers in Ballinrobe and said that a contribution to a cancer care association by both men would be appropriate — with the case put back to second calling giving the defendants an opportunity to retrieve money. However both men failed to reappear before the end of court, with the judge convicting and fining each defendant €50 in his absence.
