A man who harassed a woman for nine months had been hearing voices warning him he would be menaced by evil spirits if he disobeyed them, a court has heard.

People drinking in bushes and public order problems were cited among reasons for Garda objections to a new wine retail licence in the Douglas area of Cork.

A one-year suspended jail sentence was imposed yesterday on a mother who admitted assaulting her own infant daughter by grabbing her forcefully from a stroller and squeezing her, breaking the baby’s ribs, leg and arm.

A mother who admitted assaulting her infant daughter had confessed earlier that she had the urge to do so.