A homeless man with 70 previous convictions was jailed for two months for being intoxicated and urinating in front of children in the middle of the day.
Francis Bohan (46 ), with an address given as Fairgreen Hostel, was brought in custody before Judge Mary Fahy at Galway District Court this week where he pleaded guilty to being intoxicated in a public place, and threatening and abusive behaviour at Eyre Square on October 31, 2009. He was also charged with failing to appear in court on January 6, 2010.
The court heard that the defendant had been arrested on the morning of the court sitting on foot of a bench warrent which was then executed.
Inspector Pat McHugh said that at 2.40pm at Eyre Square gardai received a call about a man who had collapsed outside a pub in the area. When a garda officer arrived at the scene he found that Bohan, who was highly intoxicated, was holding onto to a wall and “urinating in front of children”. However, the inspector added that the defendant, who has 70 previous convictions, was not abusive.
“It’s more than vulgar,” said Judge Fahy, who added that it is “totally unacceptable that young children would have to watch a grown man urinating in a public amenity”.
“This was the middle of the day, if it was 4am in the morning then there might be some excuse,” said Judge Fahy, who then imposed a total of two months in jail.
