Drunken man scaled four-storey building and threw buckets at revellers

Gardaí were forced to climb scaffolding to the top of a partially constructed four-storey building in Killarney town centre to rescue a drunken man who was throwing empty buckets down at revellers in the early hours of the rally weekend.

Conor Walsh, aged 25, of Shiplake, Dunmanway, Co Cork,

was before Killarney District Court on charges of intoxication and entering a building without permission.

Sergeant Kieran O’Connell outlined how, at 2.20am on May 2, 2016, Mr Walsh, who was “very drunk”, and another male climbed to the top of the four storey building, known as the Vodafone building, which was under construction at the corner of the Glebe car park and College St, in Killarney, Co Kerry.

He was throwing down empty plastic buckets.

“Two gardaí had to climb to the top of the building, using scaffolding,” Sgt O’Connell said.

Gardaí brought Mr Walsh down and arrested him. There had been no damage or injuries caused.

Mr Walsh had four previous convictions, two for public order and two for road traffic offences.

Killarney solicitor Dan O’Connor said his client was 25-years-old and he worked in groundworks, to which Judge James O’Connor remarked: “There’s not much groundworks about this.”

The solicitor said his client was in Killarney for the rally weekend, and he accepted what he had done was “an act of madness”.

“He apologises to the gardaí,” Mr O’Connor said. “It was out of character. He’s a hard-working young man.”

Mr Walsh was self- employed, involved in civil engineering,

There was no other matter in the pipeline against him, and he wanted to keep his record clean so would offer a contribution to the court poor box, the solicitor said.

Judge James O’Connor agreed to give him one chance.

A figure of €1,500 was eventually agreed upon as the amount to be contributed to the charity box.

Judge O’Connor remarked during the negotiations on the sum that it would “have to have a bite and a sting”.

“These things don’t come cheap,” the judge said.

The judge also pondered as to what would happen if Mr Walsh had fallen off the building.

Mr O’Connor said it was a miracle his client or no one else had been injured.

The matter has been adjourned to July when Mr Walsh may get the benefit of the Probation Act on contributing to the poor box.