A Ballyhaunis man who refused to take a lift home with his mother who was waiting for him after he was ejected from a bar, and was ordered to go home by gardaí was convicted and fined for a public order offence in Ballyhaunis District Court this week.
Jason McDonagh of 26 The Maples, Ballyhaunis, was fined €300 by Judge Mary Devins. Garda Shane Cuffe told the court that a call was received at 1.16am on December 24 2008 that McDonagh was causing a nuisance in a licensed premises in Ballyhaunis, and when gardaí arrived at the scene he was being ejected from the premises by two bouncers. Gardaí ordered McDonagh to go home and his mother was outside waiting to pick him up, but McDonagh refused to do so. He stumbled on the footpath and out onto the road. He was then arrested and brought to Swinford Garda station where he was charged with public order offences. Judge Mary Devins said: “It must have done wonders for his street cred that his mother was waiting for him.”
The court was also told that a probation report was being carried out on him at the time for a previous offence of trespassing and that he was awaiting sentence for this conviction. Judge Mary Devins convicted and fined McDonagh €300 for the previous trespassing offence and gave him a three month suspended prison sentence suspended for 12 months, and she convicted and fined him €300 for the public order offences.
