Ballina man gets jail term for incidents of indecent exposure

A Ballina man exposed his penis twice in the same day in incidents outside a school and a busy restaurant.

Martin McDonagh, aged 26, of Mount Assumpta, Ballina pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court to charges of indecent exposure. McDonagh has been in custody on these matters since January.

On the afternoon of September 30th, 2025, a male witness saw McDonagh at Bunree Road, Ballina. He was leaning against the wall of St Muredach’s Secondary School with his penis exposed. The court heard this occurred as two secondary schools on the road were finishing up for the day.

The witness took a photo of McDonagh and sent it to Gardaí. He later told officers that he did not know if McDonagh was urinating or playing with himself at the time.

At 5pm on the same date, a woman was collecting her daughter from a Foróige club event on Pearse Street in Ballina. She saw McDonagh staring directly at her while he was standing beside a bin outside Supermacs. His trousers were down and he was rubbing his penis. He also urinated on the street. The woman took a photo and sent it to Gardaí.

McDonagh approached her car and banged on the window. He said something before the woman drove off.

The court was told the woman’s daughter was unable to sleep that night and feared the man would come to their house. CCTV captured the Pearse Street incident.

The court heard McDonagh has an alcohol problem and has been in custody on this matter since January 4th last. Before going into custody, he lived with his parents but is currently not welcome in the family home.

McDonagh has 53 previous convictions, but none for this type of offending.

Judge Eoin Garavan queried how much of a sexual element there was to his behaviour, adding: “Some people do it for sexual reasons, perhaps intimidation, some people do it because they are drunk and stupid."

Barrister Mark Ryan, representing McDonagh, said his client was intoxicated and alcohol is a big issue in his life.

Mr Ryan said alcohol has featured in almost all the man’s previous offending. The barrister said McDonagh accepts that he acted inappropriately but contended that the sexual element in this case was at the “lowest end of the scale". 

Judge Garavan said it was difficult to ascertain if McDonagh was “getting kicks from his conduct” but accepted alcohol played a major role. The judge noted that the offending took place near a school and an area where young people were present.

“The man has a drink problem,” Judge Garavan added.

The judge imposed an eight-month prison term for the Pearse Street offence which he deemed to have more aggravating factors. He suspended three months of that term and backdated the sentence to January 4, 2026, to reflect time already spent in custody.

• Published as part of the Courts Reporting Scheme.