Intoxicated Cork man asked gardaí for a fight
David O'Keeffe faced three public order charges arising out of the incident in Kinsale on October 9 last,
A man who aggressively confronted gardaí dealing with a separate issue before then beginning to sing and asking them for a fight has received a one-month suspended jail term.
Bandon District Court heard that David O'Keeffe, now aged 52, had been living in Kinsale at the time but was now living in homeless accommodation in a Travel Lodge on Kinsale Road in Cork because of the current housing crisis.
Mr O'Keeffe faced three public order charges arising out of the incident in Kinsale on October 9 last, but one was withdrawn after he pleaded guilty to the two other charges.
Judge James McNulty heard that gardaí had been dealing with a separate issue at Chairman's Lane in Kinsale at around 11.50pm when Mr O'Keeffe approached.
Sgt Paul Kelly said gardaí could see Mr O'Keeffe was highly intoxicated at the time, began interfering with what gardaí were doing, and then refused a request to leave.
Sgt Kelly said he then became aggressive and began shouting.
"He also started singing and also asked gardaí for a fight," Sgt Kelly said.
The judge heard Mr O'Keeffe had seven previous convictions, the most recent of which was in March 2007 for an assault. He had received 120 hours community service for that offence.
Mr O'Keeffe's solicitor, Plunkett Taaffe, said he wished to apologise for what had happened and that following the incident his client had made two or three visits to the garda station to apologise in person, but the relevant officers were not on duty.
Mr Taaffe said Mr O'Keeffe had been very intoxicated to the point where "he was not aware what he was doing".
He said Mr O'Keeffe had been living in Kinsale at the time but was homeless and reliant on social welfare payments of €208 a week.
"The reason he is homeless is he cannot afford a deposit to get a home," he said.
Mr O'Keeffe said he had attended rehab at the time of his last conviction and Judge McNulty commended him for that but said he was now reoffending.
The judge described Mr O'Keeffe's behaviour in Kinsale during the incident as drunk, abusive, offensive and threatening. He said interfering with and abusing members of An Garda Siochana was a serious matter in West Cork and one that should not happen again.
He sentenced Mr O'Keeffe to 30 days in prison, suspended for two years on condition that he keep the peace and be of good behaviour.
The judge also granted legal aid to Mr O'Keeffe, who can appeal the sentence on his own bond of €300, one-third in cash.
