18 months for man who wanted to be shot

A bizarre plan to get shot dead or sent to a psychiatric hospital saw a man arming himself with a hammer and knives in a Garda station to provoke a response from armed gardaí.

Judge Gerard O’Brien imposed a sentence of 18 months with the last six suspended yesterday in the case against Finbarr Savage, aged 43, of 119 Glenamoy Lawn, Mayfield, Cork.

Sinead Behan, defending, said at Cork Circuit Criminal Court that in a bizarre and deluded frame of mind the accused later said to gardaí, “I don’t feel sorry for people, I feel sorry for horses.”