A DISTRICT Court judge delivered a warning yesterday to a Co Donegal woman who was attempting to represent a relative in the court that she could find herself in the High Court if she continued to protest in a “threatening” manner over the procedure he was adopting.
The case at Castleblayney District Court, Co Monaghan, involved Eoghan Riney (35), Market Square, Milford, Co Donegal, who faced a number of public order summonses relating to incidents at Castleblayney on April 9th, April 20th and May 7th, 2008.
When the case was called, the woman, who addressed the judge from the body of the courtroom, said she wished to appear for Mr Riney who was not present.
Judge Seán MacBride said he would not consider hearing the woman. He was also concerned over an approach made by telephone the previous day to the court office, requesting that the case be dealt with through Irish.
When the woman was questioned further she said she was prepared to have the case dealt with through the “second” official language – English.
The defendant, who then also appeared in court, was questioned directly in Irish by the judge if he was a fluent Irish speaker, but he replied that he was not.
The woman, who was taking notes during the hearing, claimed she was relying on the Irish Constitution in support of her request to represent the defendant. The judge quoted the legal situation in regard to such requests, and pointed out how he was empowered to determine the question of representation.
He said this was not a constitutional matter, and he warned the woman that he was referring the matter to the Garda, and that she should be careful, or she might be appearing before the High Court.
Adjourning the case, the judge then directed gardaí to escort both the woman and the defendant from the courtroom. He said he would be consulting further with his own authorities on the case.