Man arrested for being drunk while 'on tour' in Killarney remanded in Cork Prison
The defendant was sent to Cork Prison due to outstanding bench warrants. File picture: Dan Linehan
A man who was “on tour” in Killarney when he was arrested for drunkenness was denied bail and sent to Cork Prison due to outstanding bench warrants.
Dermot Dowd, 31, of no fixed abode, had three outstanding bench warrants — two for public order offences and one for theft.
Bench warrants are issued by judges when a suspect fails to turn up for court. They allow a garda to arrest a person on sight and bring them before the court.
Mr Dowd was arrested in Killarney early on Monday morning for drunkenness. That case is to be heard via videolink in Tralee on Thursday.
He was “on tour” in Killarney when the alleged offence took place, Garda Gillian O’Donoghue said. Mr Dowd appeared before Judge Alec Gabbett in Cork District Court.
“We might prefer you back in Dublin, that might be better for everyone,” Judge Gabbett said. “If you don’t turn up in Killarney Court you may end up in Cloverhill [prison],” he warned.
Mr Dowd said that the reason he did not turn up in court for the two public order and one theft charges, which prompted the bench warrants, was because his mother had become ill and died, her house was boarded up and he became homeless.
He has suffered anxiety while grieving for his mother but has not been granted a medical card by the HSE, he said. “I lost my mother. I’m a citizen in Dublin city centre," he said.
But Judge Gabbett said that he was concerned by Mr Dowd’s bench warrants and refused bail.
He remanded him in custody in Cork Prison. He is to appear via videolink to court in Tralee on Thursday. He will appear via videolink to the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin on Monday.
His solicitor, Joseph Cuddigan, said that Mr Dowd wished to make a plea.
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