Judge hopes 'penny will drop' for Cork woman who demanded room at hotel housing refugees

The court heard “she kept demanding from the manager how many Ukrainians were staying in the hotel."

Margaret Buttimer had previously come to court attention following a number of convictions over her repeated refusal to wear a mask in public places as required by Covid-19 regulations. File picture: Larry Cummins

A grandmother who repeatedly demanded accommodation at a hotel housing Ukrainian refugees has received jail sentences, already deemed to have been served, with the judge saying he "hoped the penny will drop".

Margaret Buttimer, 68 and currently of no fixed abode, had previously been convicted on three counts of failing to comply with a direction from gardaí and one Section 5 Public Order offence, all relating to incidents just before Christmas when she had presented at the Munster Arms Hotel in Bandon in Co. Cork, demanding a room.