A payment of €400 to the Garda Benevolent Fund could have spared a 41-year-old man his first conviction for assaulting gardaí but it emerged yesterday in court the money was never paid.

Gardaí investigating the mysterious disappearance of a man in Cork City last month have issued a fresh appeal for a taxi driver and three other men to come forward.

GARDAÍ following up a report of a gun being held at a house in Blarney found a cannabis-growing operation during their search, Cork District Court heard yesterday.