Man who declared he is ‘king of Ireland’ back in Cork court today 

A man who was banned from Ireland for 20 years for harassing a woman in Cork, travelled here from the UK in November and sent her a song he had written for her, a court has heard.

The 37-year-old signed a plea of guilty to a fresh charge of breaching the court order but when he was brought in to Cork Circuit Criminal Court he raised his voice and spoke in extremely colourful and abusive terms.

He declared: “I am the king of Ireland”.

The reason for the court appearance was for him to affirm his signed guilty plea.

Judge Helen Boyle then sought to clarify the issue, saying to the accused: “You have signed a plea of guilty. Do you wish to affirm it?” He replied in similar terms.

The matter will be back before the court today.

Members of the defendant’s family, travelling from the UK, will have an opportunity to meet with him in custody.

Defence barrister, Paula McCarthy, said the defendant had left an institution in the UK of his own volition where he had been receiving psychiatric care.

Conditions imposed on him in Cork Circuit Criminal Court in June, 2022, required him to stay away for 20 years and not to communicate in any way with the woman he had harassed and sexually assaulted.