Man clocks up his 400th conviction at Cork District Court

A MAN clocked up his 400th conviction at Cork District Court today.

Inspector James Hallahan said the record of previous convictions showed that 255 of Richard O’Brien’s previous convictions were for the same offence — being intoxicated to such an extent that he was a danger to himself or others.

The grand total of his previous convictions came to 398 before today.

O’Brien, aged 58, from Pinewood estate in Killarney, and otherwise of no fixed address, appeared before court in Cork today where he pleaded guilty to a charge of being drunk and a danger, and one of engaging in threatening behaviour. 

He was observed at Paul Street, on July 3, where he was engaged in threatening behaviour and was drinking from an open container of alcohol.

Frank Buttimer, solicitor, said the accused did not go looking for trouble on this date. He said the defendant was set upon earlier in the day and then encountered the person who attacked him later at Paul Street.

Mr Buttimer said the accused had to leave Killarney because his wife would not let him into her home as long as he was drinking. He went on the road and turned up in Galway and recently in Cork.

The solicitor said that typically the accused got himself involved in minor public order incidents, but not in more serious matters like obstructive behaviour or assaults.

Combined with the penalties imposed on him and the revoking of a suspended sentence, the total jail term imposed on O’Brien was three months.

Judge Kelleher said, “A man his age should be deciding what is best for him and not spending his life in prison.”