The Sword of Damocles hangs over a young city man, as it has to be decided whether an offence committed four months after he received a suspended sentence for theft should be activated following his conviction for a public order offence at Galway District Court this week.
Thomas McDonagh (22 ) 28 Glenbaun, Ballybane, was found by Gardaí standing by a car at Castlepark with an open bottle of whiskey in his hand. He was so intoxicated that he had to be arrested for his own safety.
McDonagh has 46 previous convictions, six of which were for public drunkenness.
Michael Cunningham solicitor (defending ) pleaded that his client was a young man with addiction issues. He was not working at the moment and received €240 per week in benefits. He was pleading guilty to the public order charge. Judge Valerie Corcoran imposed a fine of €150.
The Judge was told that McDonagh had received a two-month suspended prison sentence on March 19, 2025 when he was convicted of a theft charge. The sentence was suspended for one year but the public order offence before her occurred on July 13 last, approximately four months after that.
Under normal circumstance this latest offence is what is known as a triggering offence, which could mean the suspended aspect of the sentence is revoked and must be served, along with any new sentence incurred for the triggering offence.
However, Judge Corcoran said she was not at liberty to deal with this matter and adjourned sentencing until the March 18 sitting of the court, when another Judge will adjudicate on the matter.
This article is funded by Comisiún na Meán.
