A woman who allegedly spat in the face of a Garda, was found drunk rambling on a dual carriageway, and who locked herself in an ambulance and refused to open the doors, among other offences, pleaded at Galway District Court that she wanted to be sent back to Mayo. All the charges before the Court related to a one week period in July last.
Mary Calvey of 41 Michael Davitt Park, Westport, Co Mayo told Judge Fiona Lydon through her solicitor that she couldn’t remember some of the incidents she was charged with, so she wished to plead guilty to some and not guilty to others.
The Court heard that when Calvey was being brought into Galway Courthouse, she spat in the face of Garda Aaron West and the Garda required medical treatment as a result. She pleaded not guilty to this charge.
Prosecuting Garda Sgt Christy Brown outlined a list of charges Calvey faced; most involved drunkenness and public order issues. On July 30th last she entered ambulance HQ at Merlin Park, got into the cab of an ambulance and locked herself in. Eventually staff managed to open the door and she was arrested. She pleaded guilty to this charge.
On July 24 she entered a spa in Galway and locked the doors, refusing to allow a female member of staff to leave. A guilty plea was entered on this charge.
On July 23 she was found by Gardaí on the Coast Rd, Oranmore, attempting to flag down cars. She was aggressive and abusive towards the Gardaí and was arrested for her own safety.
Her solicitor pleaded that his client had been in the care of Dochas in Castlebar and had major mental illness issues to deal with. She was pleading guilty to the incidents she could remember but not guilty to those she could not. Her sister lived in Achill and his client had an offer of accommodation near to where her sister lived.
His client had not been taking her medication during the period in which the offences occurred and was not in a good place at the time. The defendant repeatedly interrupted proceedings requesting that she be returned to Mayo.
Judge Lydon said she had considered all matters and had two major issues of concern. One was the frequent intoxication and the other the defendant’s non-adherence to her medicine regime. For the ambulance incident, she imposed a four-month sentence, backdated to when the defendant was first taken into custody on July 30. For preventing a female member of staff from leaving the wellness spa, a two-month consecutive sentence was imposed. For blocking the entrance to a city carpark while intoxicated, a one-month consecutive sentence was imposed. A number of other public order offences were taken into account.
The Judge noted that Calvey was pleading not guilty to four of the charges she faced and remanded her on bail on these, on condition that she adhered to her medical treatment regime, remained sober and comply with medical advice regarding mental health treatment.
These charges were adjourned until April next.
