Man who knocked over wheelie bins and called garda ‘Free State b**tard’ pleads guilty

Ryan Rooney, Greenane, Lough Road, Newry, pleaded guilty to being intoxicated in public, engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour or words and failing to comply with the direction of a garda.

Sgt Jimmy McGovern said that at 12.55am on 19 April last gardaí saw an intoxicated male pushing a wheelie bin in Park Street, Dundalk.

On being told by one of the officers to leave it back, he replied, ‘Go f*** yourself, you Free State bastard’.

Rooney was directed to leave the area and took off on foot.

He said to gardaí ‘f*** off, you w******’ and knocked over a number of bins before being apprehended.

There were no previous convictions.

Solicitor Aimee McCumiskey said the defendant was a digger driver earning £300 per-week and lived at home with his parents.

He wanted to apologise and had €300 with him.

‘Are you not embarrassed when you hear that (evidence) read out?’ Judge McKiernan asked him. Rooney replied, ‘Yes’.

The charges were struck out after €300 was donated to Turas Counselling Service.

The court was asked to assign legal aid.

‘Is that all you earn as a digger driver, £300 sterling a week? I find that incredibly hard to believe,’ the judge said.

‘If you need a digger it would cost you that for a few hours.’

Judge McKiernan asked Rooney if he had a pay slip, ‘You should get paid twice that’.

He said that he didn’t have one, adding that he worked for Pascal Hughes & Sons.

Ms McCumiskey said she was happy to withdrawn the legal aid application.

Judge McKiernan decided to accept it and granted legal aid.