Cork man who keyed neighbour's car and damaged flowers in his garden appears in court 

A restorative justice approach is to be considered in the case against a man who admitted keying the bonnet of his neighbour’s car, spitting at his front door and damaging flowers in his front garden.

Stephen Kiely of Cushing Place, Farranree, Cork, pleaded guilty at Cork District Court to three counts of causing criminal damage to the neighbour’s property, arising out of these incidents.

Frank Buttimer, solicitor, said that as well as pleading guilty, the accused brought €350 to court to compensate the neighbour for the damage caused, particularly to his car.

Sergeant Gearóid Davis said that on May 20, Stephen Kiely caused damage to the bonnet of the silver Mitsubishi by scraping it with a key. This was captured by the neighbour’s CCTV.

In further incidents on May 29 Mr Kiely spat at the neighbour’s door and damaged flowers in the garden.

Frank Buttimer, defence solicitor, said, “He is in court with his partner. They have seven children so it is a pretty busy house.

“From time to time there was some interaction with the injured party in terms of kids playing ball and so on.

“Regrettably, there was a falling out. Mr Kiely committed these crimes. He must have known he was going to be seen. These matters came to a head and they were detected. For various reasons they (the defendant and his partner) have applied to move out of the house.

“He has paid compensation to the injured party. There is now some order brought into Mr Kiely’s approach to the matter. He is clean of substances.” 

Judge Mary Dorgan said there were two dates when matters happened.

“It would be worth considering restorative justice. We need to look at a restorative justice-type approach. These parties have to live next door to each other,” Judge Dorgan said.

The judge directed preparation of a probation report to look at restorative justice. It may not be appropriate but it can be assessed, the judge said.

The case against the accused, who is aged around 40, was adjourned until March 20 2024 for that purpose.