garda abuse ‘Gemma O’Doherty supporter’ abused and insulted gardaí and refused to give his name

A CAR passenger who was asked for his name after a garda traffic stop roared obscenities and told them: “I’m a Gemma O’Doherty supporter, I don’t need to tell you nothing,” a court heard.

Father-of-one Philip Daly (33) hurled abuse at the officer in a public park and asked passers-by to “record the wrongdoing of the guards” on their phones.

Daly was found guilty of using threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour but a charge of refusing to give gardaí his name and address was dismissed.

The accused, of Poplar Row, Dublin 3 had pleaded not guilty to both charges.
Judge Bryan Smyth fined him €200.

Garda Rebecca Matthews told Dublin District Court she signalled a woman driving a car at Fairview Park to stop on the evening of May 7 and noticed there was a small child in the back of the car.

As she spoke to the driver, Daly, who was a passenger, “kept interrupting from the outset”.

He said “f**k you, I will not stick around for this”, unbuckled the child and got out of the car, Gda Matthews said.

She followed the accused into the park, where she asked his name and address.

He said “f**k off, I don’t have to give you any details,” Gda Matthews told the court.

Daly added: “I’m a Gemma O’Doherty supporter, I don’t need to tell you nothing.”

He started shouting, telling people to “record the wrongdoing of the guards”.

The driver came over and took the child, and Daly continued to shout obscenities “in front of hundreds of people in the park”.

He was arrested and brought to Clontarf garda station, where his identity was ascertained.

Daly would say the garda only asked for his details in the garda car, his solicitor Yvonne Bambury said.

He had not been arrested when the garda followed him and he was within his rights to keep going, Ms Bambury said.

Online Editors