A woman, with serious alcohol difficulties, received a four months suspended sentence yesterday for the breach of a barring order.
The Galway District Court heard how Mary Fahy had breached a barring order put in place by her elderly mother numerous times. On one occasion the 48-year-old defendant with an address at Osterley Lodge, Lwr Salthill, had forced her way in, brandished a knife, and threatened to commit self-harm.
Inspector Pat McHugh told the court that on March 18, 2009, gardai received a call to go to a house in Monivea Park where they met with the defendant’s elderly mother. Inspector McHugh said that there had been breaches on a number of occasions where Fahy would force her way into the house or kick and bang the door.
On one occasion, on March 12, the defendant managed to get into the house and went upstairs to sleep off the affects of alcohol. She later woke up, came down the stairs armed with a knife and threatened to kill herself in front of her mother. “It’s an on-going problem,” he added.
Judge Mary Fahy said that the court had tried to get the defendant help but that she was rejecting everything that was offered.
At a previous court sitting held last week Judge Fahy, referring to a doctor’s report, noted that there was “nothing wrong psychologically” with the defendant except her “heavy voluntary alcoholism”.
Defence solicitor Adrian MacLynn, said yesterday agreed that there was no difficulty except his client’s “inability to deal with her problems”. He said that the 12 days his client has spent in custody on remand has been a “hard lesson” and that she has made assurances to take the necessary steps to deal with her problems.
“This is serious. Her mother is entitled to some peace in the house,” said Judge Fahy who imposed a four month sentence suspended for 12 months on condition that the defendant enter a bond of €300 to be of good behaviour and to obey the barring order.
