Richard O'Brien a free man, for now, amid warning prison not the right place for him

Kerry man O'Brien, 53, who has almost 550 convictions, has spent 35 years in and out of prison, where he 'dries out' from alcohol only to reoffend when he gets out

Richard O'Brien: In recent months, O’Brien’s appearance before Judge Mary Dorgan in Cork District Court led to the judge telling defence solicitor Shane Collins-Daly that the number of his previous convictions 'has to be a record'. Picture: Hany Marzouk

Richard O’Brien walked out of the Midlands prison on New Year’s Eve a free man — for the time being at least.

He was serving time for offences in Cork and Kerry, including a five-day sentence handed down in Tralee District Court last October 16 for intoxication in a public place. That sentence was the latest of 548 convictions picked up by O’Brien, 53, one of the country’s most prolific serial offenders.