A mother-of-four who drove her car at speed on a footpath in an attempt to run down two teenage girls who had attacked her 14-year-old daughter has been given a three-year suspended jail sentence.
Judge Keenan Johnson said the accused, Mary Lawrence, had taken “the law into her own hands” after being annoyed with the way gardaí had handled the incident involving her daughter.
Lawrence (38) of Ardagh Lodge, Prospect Woods, Longford, had pleaded guilty to a charge of endangerment when she drove her Volkswagen Passat on to the footpath at Harbour Street, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, on March 25th, 2018.
Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court on Tuesday heard one of the two girls had to jump over a wall to avoid being struck, while the other took cover behind a pole. Before leaving the scene Lawrence shouted: “I’m going to kill you! You’re dead! I’ll go to jail for you!”
Lawrence originally denied involvement in the incident when later arrested by gardaí and only entered a guilty plea shortly before a jury trial earlier this year.
Garda Sheila Heaphy said Lawrence had claimed subsequently that her 14-year-old daughter had been attacked and bullied by the two girls in Mullingar two weeks prior to the incident. The witness said Lawrence had contacted gardaí but was unhappy that the matter had been dealt with by way of caution.
The court heard that Lawrence has also been charged with a public order offence arising out of an incident between her and members of the extended family of one of the girls in October 2018 when the accused had possession of a knife.
‘A difficult patch’
Counsel for Lawrence, Gerard Groarke, said his client, a widow with three daughters and a son, had been going through “a difficult patch” at the time of the incident. She “deserves a chance”, he said.
Mr Groarke said one of the girls who had attacked Lawrence’s daughter had approached her and apologised for what had happened. In turn, said Mr Groarke, Lawrence had also apologised for her actions.
The court heard Lawrence had 25 previous convictions.
The judge sentenced her to three years in jail. But he suspended the term for 10 years on condition that she pay a bond of €500 to keep the peace for a decade and submit to supervision of the Probation Service for 18 months.