Sacristan spat on and slapped by drunk man

A 75-year-old sacristan was spat on and slapped across the face when he told a drunken man to stop shouting in a church.

At Cork District Court yesterday, Judge Leo Malone said: “People — be they sacristans or members of the public — attending church are entitled to go about their business without interference by the accused or anyone else.”

He said a four-month jail sentence was appropriate.