The heart-rending tale of a prospective bridegroom being separated from his fiancée by what he regarded as over-onerous bail conditions being imposed on him by Gardaí standing in the path of him and wedding bliss took another turn at Ballinasloe District Court.
At a sitting of the court on September 24 Bernie Corcoran, 4 An Creggaun, Ballinasloe, pleaded that not only had Gardaí arrested him three times on his stag night but had also imposed such strenuous bail conditions that they prevented him from joining his beloved in Lifford, Co Donegal. As a result, his wedding had to be put back a month, he stated.
The kernel of the issue was that Mr Corcoran could not provide a verifiable address for where he would reside in Lifford. Garda Sgt Christy Brown told Judge James Faughnan that simply stating Lifford was not a sufficient address, and inquiries were unable to locate an address where Corcoran would be welcome.
There it stood until the would-be bridegroom returned to court a week later and informed Judge Faughnan that he no longer wished to move to Lifford after all. “Not trouble in paradise, I hope,” someone quipped from the body of the court.
However, Corcoran did have an alternative request. He said one of his bail conditions of signing on daily at the local Garda Station was “getting a bit much” and requested that this be eased.
“It’s not as if we’re delaying him from work,” Sgt Brown told the judge, adding he was opposing the request. He added that Corcoran’s requests regarding his bail “were changing by the hour” but he had agreed to these conditions he now complained about.
Sgt Brown said they were keeping Corcoran “on a short string” and the Gardaí couldn’t figure out what he actually wanted.
“Put your requests in writing and submit your list to the Gardaí a week in advance,” Judge Faughnan instructed him before adjourning matters until the October 27 sitting of the court.
