“A man surrounded by five females deserves whatever luck comes his way,” Judge Seamus Hughes told a Mullingar man as he decided not to send him to prison.
Conor Farrell, Grange Crescent had pleaded not guilty to being involved in a public order incident in Mullingar which occurred on a social night out.
Mr Louis Kiernan said his client got into a row with his uncle in the pub and left, only to be surrounded by members of the Farrell family, mostly women.
When gardaí arrived he was arrested, but Mr Kiernan said his client hadn’t had an opportunity to leave the scene in a peaceful way.
Mr Kiernan admitted Farrell had taken his top off in the heat of the moment, but didn’t feel he was to blame in this incident.
He has pleaded to other public order misbehaviour in the past, “but he didn’t start this”, Mr Kiernan said.
Inspector Dermot Drea agreed with the defence’s view of the situation, but said gardaí were concerned because it had been tense.
“But I accept there are circumstances and it wasn’t the most serious of incidents,” he said.
There were no “choice words” to gardaí and Farrell came peacefully to the Garda station, he said.
“I have to commend his behaviour - he’s not always like that,” he said.
His partial defence of Farrell prompted Judge Hughes to remind the inspector that “You’re the prosecutor!”
“I’m nearly not sure what my role here is,” he said, as the prosecution and defence seemed to agree.
Noting that the incident was minor and that there was no abuse to gardaí, Judge Hughes took pity on him for being surrounded by women and said he wouldn’t jail him.
This prompted Farrell to plead guilty to failing to leave the scene and charges of drunkenness and threatening behaviour were struck out.
Judge Hughes imposed a fine of €200, and Mr Kiernan responded saying Farrell, a father of one, hoped his days of coming to court are almost at an end.
