Man jailed over knife waving in public

A hammer and a knife were found under a parked car after an aggressive showdown between three men in the Togher area of Cork City on a bright summer’s evening.

An off-duty garda, Patrick Harrington, was driving past Clashduv Rd at 7.20pm on June 1 last year when he spotted a resident, John Bulman, aged 28.

“I could see him out in the middle of the road. It was a fine summer’s evening. As we were passing Riverview estate, my attention was drawn to the fact he had a large kitchen knife in his right hand.

“He was in a shouting match with two other men. It was a heated argument,” the garda testified.

“There was a lot of abuse going back and forth between the three males. Mr Bulman stood off the road on to the footpath. As I passed I could see clearly a large kitchen knife in his right hand.”

Bulman pleaded not guilty to having a weapon in his possession.

His solicitor Donal Daly said the accused had previous convictions but was adamant he did not have a knife that day.

Garda Harrington said he was so concerned about a possible escalation of the aggression he pulled in and phoned his colleagues who were working at Togher Garda Station.

He said that Bulman eventually went into his home.

Garda Harrington said colleagues later found a hammer and a knife underneath a parked car close to where the disturbance occurred.

Mr Daly submitted that Bulman could have been cleared of any association with the knife had the gardaí sent it away for fingerprint analysis.

Judge Olann Kelleher said that on the basis of Garda Harrington’s evidence he was convicting Bulman.

Judge Kelleher sentenced John Bulman to seven months in prison for having the knife in unlawful circumstances.