Man tried to rob bag of cash from publican’s car

A man sat into the passenger seat of a publican’s car and tried to rob a bag containing €805 in cash but claimed he was trying to prevent a possible drink-driving incident.

Noel Buckley, aged 37, of Monard, Whitechurch, Co Cork, pleaded guilty at Cork District Court yesterday to a charge of attempting to rob Richard Cronin outside An Bróg on Oliver Plunkett Street, Cork.

Detective Garda Cormac Crotty said the crime was carried out after 4am on August 7, when the injured party, Mr Cronin, walked out of the premises with a bag containing the case.

“As he walked to his car he saw Noel Buckley staring at him. Noel Buckley opened the passenger door of the car and said to Mr Cronin, ‘You are fucked now.’ He then said, ‘Give me that’.

“Mr Cronin told him to get out of the car. Noel Buckley grabbed him around the head and there was a bit of a struggle for 20 seconds,” said Det Garda Crotty yesterday.

Buckley did not get away with the cash and he walked towards Parnell Place.

Mr Cronin phoned for the gardaí and followed him a distance in his car.

He later identified Buckley to gardaí.

The defendant was very drunk at the time. Eddie Burke, defence solicitor, said Buckley was shocked by his own behaviour when he was shown CCTV of the incident.

The defendant initially claimed that his belief was that the injured party was drunk and he was stopping him from driving, but there were no grounds for this.

Judge Olann Kelleher said: “He was stopping a man from drink driving?”

Mr Burke said that the defendant had since offered apologies to the injured party.

Det Garda Crotty said: “He contacted me a few times to apologise, to be fair.

“And the injured party did not want to make a victim impact statement.

“He said it was not overly serious.”

Judge Olann Kelleher put sentencing back until January 4 on the charges of attempted robbery, assaulting Mr Cronin, engaging in threatening behaviour, and being drunk and a danger.