Woman refused a spin home from the gardaí in Schull

AN intoxicated woman who refused the offer of a spin home was prosecuted for committing a public order offence in Schull.

Court presenter Sgt Trish O’Sullivan told Bantry District Court that Gda Batt Duggan found the accused, Joan Looney of the Perrin Inn, Glengarriff, to be in a highly intoxicated state at the Pier Road in Schull, at 10pm on the night of October 30th 2023.

‘She had been shouting and banging on doors, but when the gardaí spoke to her she was sitting in the rear seat of her vehicle,’ said the sergeant.

The court presenter said gardaí spoke to her through the door for about 45 minutes, but she refused the offer of a spin home.

Then, the gardaí – believing her to be a danger to herself – arrested her, and she was prosecuted for being drunk in a public place. Sgt O’Sullivan told the court that the accused has two previous convictions for no insurance; and two for drink driving.

Flor Murphy, solicitor defending, said his client had ‘done well for herself’ in her native Killarney before developing a fondness, and then an addiction, to alcohol.

‘She is in her 50s and this is her first time coming before the court on a public order charge,’ he said.

The solicitor explained that his client had been living in Schull for a number of years, but her tenancy was terminated, and she has been moving ever since.

‘She was in rehab for a spell, about four years ago, but she buried her sister last year and hit the bottle,’ said Mr Murphy, who went on to tell the court that this was a relapse and his client is no longer drinking.

‘On this day, she had been drinking but before that it had been months before she had a drink,’ he said.

‘She knew not to drive. She was going to sleep in the car with the dog,’ he told the court.

Judge James McNulty fined the accused €150 for being intoxicated in a public place and he gave her three months to pay the fine.