A man who breached the peace by being threatening, abusive, and insulting towards his ex-wife was convicted and fined at Ballina District Court this week.
Ms Patricia McBrearty told the court that on November 17 last year while she was getting her children ready for school, she observed her ex-husband Gordon McBrearty, 76 Knocknalyre, Ballina, outside her home in Riverside Drive.
Ms McBrearty proceeded to try to drive her children to school, however the defendant stood in her way and when she made it into the car he stood at the driver’s door so it could not be closed. According to Ms McBrearty, the defendant was roaring and shouting abusive language calling her a “bad mother”, “a whore” and “an alcoholic.”
Linda Durkan, a neighbour of Ms McBrearty, saw the defendant shouting obscenities and heard the kids crying in the car. Ms Durkan ran to another neighbour’s house to call the gardaí.
The defendant shouted at Ms Durkan to “keep your f***ing nose out of my business” as it was a family matter and said to her that she was “nothing but a whore”.
McBrearty, who represented himself, put it to Ms Durkan that she in fact called him “a tramp” and was only interested in the situation as “your brother and my wife are now in a relationship”.
Garda Paula Shovelin said that she received a call at 9.10am about a disturbance. On arrival at the scene McBrearty was directed to leave the area but refused and was arrested.
The defendant said that he was leaving the estate when the gardaí arrested him. According to McBrearty the reason that he was at the house that morning was that he was enquiring why his eldest daughter was not serving at Mass that day. The defendant claimed that Ms McBrearty was roaring at him and that he didn’t block the door nor was he shouting and his children were not crying.
McBrearty, who has no previous convictions, was convicted and fined €250 by Judge Mary Devins for the section six public order charge.
