Man spared jail for assaulting and threatening garda

A man has been spared a jail sentence and a criminal record after pleading guilty to becoming aggressive and spitting at a garda during what a judge called “appalling incident”.

Fearghal Ó Snodaigh (24), a son of Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh, pleaded guilty at Dublin District Court in November to assaulting Garda Niall Carolan at Ballymun Garda station on February 28th last.

The Trinity College Dublin student, with an address at Naas Road, Dublin 8, also admitted obstructing Garda Carolan and using threatening, abusive and insulting words or behaviour during the drink-fuelled incident.

He instructed his barrister Emer Ní Chúagáin to apologise on his behalf.

Judge Paula Murphy noted that the restorative justice report on Ó Snodaigh was “all positive” and that he had given €500 to charity. She struck out the case sparing Ó Snodaigh a conviction.

The court heard previously from Sgt Damian Beakey, who said the accused entered the garda station with a taxi driver because of a dispute about a fare. Ó Snodaigh was “extremely intoxicated and aggressive to gardaí from the start”, Sgt Beakey said.

‘Squared up’

He said gardaí tried to calm Ó Snodaigh but he “squared up” to one of the officers in a threatening manner. He was restrained and arrested and brought to the custody foyer but refused to give his details to the station jailer.

Ó Snodaigh was brought to a cell where he continued to be aggressive and refused to take off his belt or to allow himself to be searched.

“And at this stage he spat out at Garda Niall Carolan,” Sgt Beakey said.

The court heard he was then searched and charged before being released into the custody of his father.

Garda Sgt Beakey agreed with the defence barrister that it was unlikely Ó Snodaigh would come to garda attention again.

Defence counsel said the testimonials on Ó Snodaigh spoke of the type of man he was and that the incident had been “out of character”.

He had also been struggling with a prior difficult incident and had attended counselling. The barrister said Ó Snodaigh told her he had not consumed alcohol in the manner he did that night before and now only drank small amounts.

Judge Ann Ryan, who presided over earlier hearings in the case, said the incident was triggered by the amount of alcohol Ó Snodaigh had taken and that he had a good future ahead of him.

“But the incident itself was appalling and your behaviour was completely and utterly unacceptable,” she told him.