'It's not Airbnb': Defendant asks to be remanded in Limerick prison instead of Cork

Man accused of breaking curfew five times as he asks for bail address to be moved to Pallasgreen so he could be with wife and children

Limerick Prison, where Thomas Connors asked to be remanded. He was refused. File picture: Dan Linehan

A judge told a defendant that the court was “not Airbnb” when he asked to be remanded in Limerick prison rather than in Cork.

Judge Patricia Harney had refused Thomas Connors’ application for bail after hearing evidence that he had “fairly egregious” breaches of his bail conditions.

Mr Connors said he had stopped drinking alcohol and would give up his passport to be allowed back on bail.

Mr Connors was before Mallow District Court for breaching his bail conditions while awaiting a court hearing on three burglary charges. He had been granted bail with certain conditions attached at Fermoy District Court on September 11.

His bail conditions included a curfew, to sign into a Garda station, and to be contactable on a mobile phone at all times.

Mr Connors was accused of breaking his curfew five times. Garda Brian O’Connor said he was also uncontactable by phone and he had not signed into a Garda station since November 21.

Mr Connors has four children and a wife in Pallasgreen, Co Limerick, but his bail conditions involved being at his mother’s address in Tipperary town.

His solicitor, Charlie O’Connor, said any breach of bail conditions was to meet his wife.

When he was caught breaching bail conditions, he was within three miles of her home, Mr O’Connor said.

“Mr Connors would say all breaches were to meet with his wife,” Mr O’Connor said.

Mr Connors requested that his bail address be moved to Pallasgreen so that he could be with his wife and children in Limerick and he promised to stick to his bail conditions and not to commit any crimes while on bail.

“I’ll give my passport up,” Mr Connors said. “I’m an alcoholic, I lost my phone. I’ll stop drinking."

When asked why he had failed to sign into a Garda station as per his bail conditions, Judge Harney said it’s “because you went on a bender”.

She refused his bail application and remanded him in custody, to appear in court in Cork via video link on Monday, January 25.

As he was leaving court yesterday, Mr Connors asked that he be remanded in Limerick rather than Cork, to which Judge Harney replied that the court was "not Airbnb".