“You are making a promise on oath, and breaching this promise will have very serious consequences,” a judge warned a defendant who has come before her repeatedly for being drunk and a danger to himself and the public around the streets of Galway.
“Didn’t I tell him before to do his drinking in private and not be wandering the streets making a nuisance of himself?” Judge Fiona Lydon said in some exasperation when the defendant, Philip Kalwile, residing at Fairgreen Hostel, Galway, appeared before her once again at Galway District Court on the same charges.
Garda Sgt Damien Prendergast said that the defendant never showed any aggression towards the Gardaí, he simply had to be continually arrested for his own safety for being drunk in public. He outlined details of the latest three incidences of public drunkenness. One was on November 1, and another on November 4 in the city centre.
Judge Lydon instructed the man to make a pledge on oath before her that he would undertake not to drink in public on the city’s streets again.
“I advise you not to lie on footpaths in daylight causing a nuisance to the public. You have now made a promise to this Judge and I can take action if you break that promise,” she warned him.
Fines totalling €900 were imposed for the three offences with ten months to pay.
This article is funded by Comisiún na Meán.
