Woman left son, 6, in car after arrest bid

A WOMAN who fled and left her six-year-old son in her car when a Garda attempted to arrest her has been convicted under Section 6 of the Public Order Act.

Clonakilty District Court heard that on May 13, 2023, gardaí were called to the Harbour Bar in Leap, West Cork, where it was suspected that a woman — later identified as Tracey O’Leary, aged 45, of 11 Welwyn Rd, Maryborough Woods, Douglas, Cork — was about to drive while under the influence of alcohol with a child passenger in her car.

Giving evidence, Garda Barry O’Grady said he responded to the report and arrived at the Harbour Bar at around 3.55pm. He said he observed a person fitting the description given, sitting behind the wheel of a red Red Kia Stonic jeep with a young child sitting in the passenger seat.

Garda O’Grady said that when he asked the driver her name she replied “Tracey” but refused to give her surname.

Garda O’Grady said there was a strong smell of alcohol on the defendant’s breath and when she got out of the car she told him to “fuck off” and “go and catch some real criminals”. 

Garda O’Grady said she then got back into the car, at which point he leaned in through the window and took the keys.

He said O’Leary tried to stop him taking the keys and broke them in the process. He said the defendant then exited the car again and tried to get into the driver’s seat of his patrol car.

He said O’Leary continued to be abusive and verbally abused him with slurs of “a sexual nature”.

He said she walked towards him, shaking her chest, and asking “do you want a bit of that?”.

She then took a cigarette from somebody outside the bar and left, heading in the direction of Kilmacabea. Garda O’Grady said he decided to stay with the car for the safety of the child and called for backup. He said family members who lived nearby were contacted and took care of the child and following a search, O’Leary was found hiding in a nearby field.

ARREST

He formed the opinion that she was in such an intoxicated state that she was a danger to herself and to others and arrested her under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.

She was taken to Clonakilty Garda Station, where she gave her name as “Mary O’Leary”, scribbled over the custody record, and behaved in an aggressive manner.

Defence solicitor Plunkett Taaffe said his client suffered from anxiety and that alcohol adversely reacted with her medication. He said that from her perspective, she had done nothing wrong and had not driven while under the influence of alcohol.

Giving evidence, O’Leary denied being abusive and said that she may have commented that Garda O’Grady was “good looking”, which he may have taken the wrong way. She said she had attended a charity function the night before and had “a few drinks” but only one small glass of white wine with her lunch at the Harbour Bar that afternoon.

She said she was waiting in the car with her son for her former sister-in-law, who had taken her dog for a walk, and she intended to get a lift with her when she returned. She said she panicked and probably had an anxiety attack because the tax on her car was out of date and she feared the vehicle would be impounded.

Prosecuting Inspector Roisin O’Dea said O’Leary was sitting in the car with the keys in the ignition and it had been reported to gardaí that she intended to drive the car while under the influence of alcohol. She said she was abusive to Garda O’Grady and to other gardaí at Clonakilty Garda Station.

Judge John King convicted her on two counts relating to the incidents and held another two counts in consideration. She was fined a total of €900 and given six months to pay. Recognisance in the event of an appeal was fixed at O’Leary’s own bond of €400.