Mayo man got into fistfight after Country music concert
The defendant pleaded guilty at Castlebar District Court.
A man got into a fistfight outside a hotel after a Declan Nerney concert and threw furniture out the window of an apartment during a separate incident.
Francis McDonagh, aged 25, of Ard Mhuire, Carrowmore, Knock, pleaded guilty at Castlebar District Court to separate breaches of the Public Order Act.
The court heard that on July 30, 2023, an altercation broke out between two women who had been attending a concert at the McWilliam Hotel, Claremorris.
When the husband of one of the females got involved, McDonagh stepped in as his wife was also involved and he and the other man had a one-on-one fistfight outside the hotel. The accused was identified on CCTV.
The court heard that McDonagh and the other man are distantly related and have since made peace.
In relation to the second incident, the court heard that Gda Karl Murray was on patrol in Knock on December 3, 2023, when he saw McDonagh standing on the balcony of an apartment. He was roaring and shouting and throwing furniture and delph from the balcony onto the ground.
McDonagh was still shouting when he came outside the apartment building but much to the Garda’s surprise he sat on a wall and offered up his hands to be handcuffed before asking to be arrested.
Gda Murray admitted that he thought he "might be in some bother" initially and was taken aback when the accused acted so peacefully. McDonagh was highly intoxicated at the time.
The court heard that the December incident led Gardaí to identify McDonagh as one of the men involved in the hotel dispute.
Solicitor Gary Mulchrone said his client is a father-of-four who "drank to excess" when the apartment incident occurred. He said there had been a dispute in the dwelling and matters boiled over.
Mr Mulchrone said McDonagh has taken a pledge at Knock Shrine that he will abstain from alcohol.
Judge Michael Connellan branded McDonagh's behaviour "unacceptable" and said he faces a custodial sentence should he appear in court again. The judge imposed fines totalling €600.
