Judge warns courtroom to cut out 'football fan' antics

A senior judge threatened to send members of the public to the cells, after he accused them of behaving like "football fans", when the verdict was returned in a rape trial.

Mr Justice Paul Carney made his comments this morning, at the sentencing of a Brazilian man who was found guitly of raping a work colleague at a staff party in a Co Clare Hotel.

Mr Carney said he considered excluding members of the public from the public gallery when the unamimous guilty verdict was returned late yesterday evening.

"I very seriously considered excluding those who behaved like they were at a football match last night when the jury verdict came in," said Mr Justice Carney.

At the sentencing today, the judge ordered one woman who was sitting next to the victim in the case to get out of the court for sniggering.

"Anyone who forgets today where they are will go to the cells," he warned.

The trial - which took place at the Limerick sitting of the Central Criminal Court - concluded last night when the jury of eight men and four women returned a unanimous guilty verdict.

During the trial the 27-year-old hotel porter had denied the rape of the 23-year-old woman at the Clare Inn Hotel, Newmarket on Fergus, Co Clare, on December 2 2003.

He had also denied a second charge of burglary on the same date. Evidence was heard that the woman was raped in her hotel bedroom after she had consumed a lot of alcohol.

Mr Justice Carney adjourned sentencing today, until March 7 next pending the completion of a probation report on the accused.