A man who got agitated when he saw another man being arrested and tried to come to his rescue was jailed this week.
Carlow District Court heard that on June 29, 2008 Colin Weir from Clara in Offaly was in Carlow with his girlfriend. After having a few drinks and leaving the pub, Mr Weir and his girlfriend were passing Supermac’s restaurant at around 2.45am when they saw a man being arrested.
Garda Liam Lawlor said he responded to a public order incident outside the restaurant.
“When I got there Mr Weir was shouting at gardaí. I asked him to leave as there was a large crowd there. He told me to f**k off. I asked him a number of times to leave. He refused. He said ‘arrest me if you want to’,” said Gda Lawlor.
“And you obliged,” said Judge William Harnett. “This sort of behaviour is not tolerated in other countries. All it takes is one clown and the weak minds of the crowd start causing huge problems for the gardaí.”
Mr Weir, a plasterer by trade was captured on CCTV on the night in question. He is a father of four who had a heart attack last year and a hernia operation and has put his past behind him, said his defending solicitor Matt Mulvey.
Mr Mulvey said his client had mistakenly thought the man being arrested was in danger from the gardaí but in fact that man who was not named in the proceedings was having a seizure.
When asked about his previous convictions, Judge William Harnett was read out several including some for assault. “Your client has quite a record of violence,” Judge Harnett told Mr Mulvey before ordering two, three month sentences for Mr Weir to run consecutively.
