Mayo garda suffered injuries in vicious courtroom attack
The assault occurred in the courtroom shortly after the defendant signed a bail bond.
A man with schizophrenia carried out a "senseless" attack on a female garda in a Mayo courtroom.
Domhnaill Cosgrave, aged 38, of Ballylynan, Co Laois, pleaded guilty at a sitting of Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting Garda Katie Conlon at Castlebar Courthouse on April 18 last year.
Sgt Sinead Barrett told the court that on April 17, 2023, Cosgrave was detained under the Mental Health Act in Galway. A further incident occurred in Claregalway where he was aggressive towards gardaí and was arrested and taken to Castlebar District Court to be charged as no court was available in Galway that day.
CCTV played in court showed Cosgrave being uncooperative as he was taken into the body of the courthouse. During scuffles with members of An Garda Síochána, he kicked out at Gda Conlon who was the assigned Court Garda at the time.
The accused had to be taken back to Castlebar Garda Station until his case was heard. He returned to the courthouse where he was called forward to sign his bail bond. As he was walking back from the court clerk's desk, he attacked Gda Conlon, grabbing her by the hair and causing the officer to fall against the court benches. Some of her hair came away such was the ferocity of his grasp.
Gda Conlon suffered soft tissue injuries and continues to experience neck and shoulder pain and headaches. She struggled with nightmares following the assault and underwent counselling.
Cosgrave has been in custody since the incident and spent 11 months in the Central Mental Hospital in Dublin.
Dr Laura Byrne, representing the accused, said her client has schizophrenia, which was undiagnosed when the assault took place. A psychiatric report stated he was "out of touch with reality" when he attacked Gda Conlon.
She said her client is very remorseful for his actions.
During discussions with psychiatrists, Cosgrave gave varying reasons for his actions. He stated he wanted to be an "undercover cop" and needed to carry out a crime in order to go to prison. He also said he didn’t like the look of Gda Conlon and that she "needed a good hammering". The court heard an addiction to cannabis and the use of psychedelic drugs was also in the background.
Judger Eoin Garavan said Cosgrave’s actions were “extremely violent and aggressive". He noted this was an acute psychotic episode where the accused was separated from reality.
The judge handed down a 20-month prison sentence backdated to April 19, 2023. Cosgrave has already been in custody for 14 months.
