Cork mother defends son who smashed her car windows

Appearing by video link from prison, the 22-year-old man pleaded guilty to breaching a barring order.

 A woman had the windows of her car and the front windows of her home smashed by her own son who also kicked the front door off the hinges but she appeared in court to speak up for him at his sentencing hearing.

The victim of the crime said that her son was basically a good person and needed help with his addiction difficulties rather than a prison term.

“Underneath it all, he is a good person,” the defendant’s mother told Judge Olann Kelleher at an in-camera hearing of Cork District Court.

He pleaded guilty to breaching a barring order under the Domestic Violence Act, putting his mother in fear on the occasion, on December 6, 2022.

Sergeant Gearóid Davis outlined background details from the case and said the defendant smashed windows in his mother’s car and in the front of her home, and that the front door was off the hinges after the incident.

Appearing by video link from prison, the 22-year-old man pleaded guilty to breaching the order.

The accused was represented in court by defence solicitor, Michael Quinlan. But the defendant’s mother also asked to be heard at the sentencing hearing.

Cocaine

Mr Quinlan said of the accused: “He takes cocaine. When he is taking drugs he is not welcome at home. He is very welcome at home when he is clean. She is looking after his child for part of the week while the child’s mother is working and she does not want anything to jeopardise that situation. 

She is here to support him. She wants him to get help and deal with his addictions. When clean and sober he had a job.” 

Judge Kelleher said: “It is a sad case for a mother to have to come to court in a case against her son whom she reared. It always seems to be cocaine nowadays. He broke all the windows of the house. I must be conscious of the protection of society and not just the mother.” 

The defendant’s mother said: “I am always very honest and won’t defend him when he is wrong. His addiction is different to other addictions. It is different. He does not touch drugs unless he takes drink. It is always some incident related to his father — it is a birthday or Father’s Day or Christmas. His dad walked out of his life and was never there for him.

"It is not an excuse. He is underneath it all a good person. He never had any reason. He is a victim to emotional stuff. His father had another boy (with another partner) and lavished love on the other child. Within seven months (of the parents separating) it went downhill from there.”

 Judge Olann Kelleher imposed a three-month sentence for breaching the barring order.

Noting that he had a six-month suspended sentence hanging over him at the time, the judge activated four months of that.

 Both sentences will run concurrently.

The sentence may be appealed.