Man was 'langers drunk' when he stole beer from West Cork store, court told

The accused told the court he had been off alcohol for five weeks and previously had been drinking 'every day'

The court heard the defendant went into the Centra Shop on Main Street Schull, put three packs of beer into a rucksack paid for other goods but did not pay for the beers valued at €26.15. File picture: Chani Anderson

A Meath man who stole beer from a convenience store while on a visit to West Cork told the district court he did so because he was “langers drunk” at the time.

Bantry District Court heard that John Nelson, aged 56 from Parnell Park, Navan, Co Meath was visiting friends in Schull, Co Cork, in March 2025. Sergeant Trish O’Sullivan told the court Nelson went into the Centra Shop on Main Street Schull at 1.50pm on March 22, 2025.

While in the shop he put three packs of beer into a rucksack and put the bag on his back. He picked up some other items and brought them to the till and paid for them but he did not pay for the beers valued at €26.15.

Nelson left the store without paying for the beers and was later identified as the suspect. The court was told Nelson had 19 previous convictions, including one for theft, and had brought compensation to court for the injured party.

Defence solicitor, Flor Murphy, said Nelson was a native of Co. Meath who had issues with alcohol “over the years”. The court was told there was a gap in Nelson’s offending from 2010 to the incident in Schull and he appeared to have “slipped” while on the visit. 

Mr Murphy said his client had previously worked but was no longer able to because of a hip infection. Nelson told the court he had been off alcohol for five weeks and previously had been drinking “every day”. 

Judge Joanne Carroll asked Nelson why he had gone into the shop and taken the items to which he replied: “I was langers drunk”. 

The judge said Nelson had previously had the benefit of the Probation Act and she convicted him of the theft and sentenced him to three months in prison suspended for 12 months. The sentence was suspended on condition that he attends alcohol treatment services.

Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme