Man followed and threatened woman and her friends in West Cork car park

A holidaymaker who followed and threatened a woman and her friends following a night out in West Cork has pleaded guilty in the district court to public order offences.

Kristian Breen, aged 37, with an address at Grosvenor Square, Rathmines, Dublin, pleaded guilty to two counts of threatening and abusive behaviour and one count of public intoxication.

Sergeant Tom Mulcahy told Skibbereen District Court gardaí were alerted to an incident at Field’s car park in Skibbereen in the early hours of April 13. Just after 1am, a woman who was walking home with a group of friends was followed and threatened by a man identified as Kristian Breen.

The court was told Breen had “tried to assault” the group, was aggressive and shouting, and forced the friends to defend themselves. Breen was eventually held on the ground by three men and gardaí were called.

When gardaí arrived, Breen continued to be aggressive and was shouting but could not tell them his name or address. Breen appeared to be highly intoxicated and he was arrested and taken to Clonakilty Garda Station.

At the station, Breen continued to behave in an aggressive manner, attempting to interfere when the member in charge completed the custody record. He also refused to remove his belt when he was placed in a cell, and told gardaí he was a boxer and he would “knock them out”. The court heard Breen had no previous convictions.

Defence solicitor Éamonn Fleming said Breen worked as a fitness instructor for a fitness company and the incident was completely out of character.

He said Breen was on holiday in Skibbereen at the time and had gone out for a drink with his wife. Mr Fleming said Breen’s wife had gone back to their hotel to do some work on her laptop and his client had “unwisely” decided to stay on and have a few more drinks.

The court was told Breen did not usually drink large amounts of alcohol and his behaviour was “bizarre” for someone at this stage in his life. Mr Fleming said Breen could not explain why he behaved the way he did and apologised to all concerned.

Judge Joanne Carroll said it was a very serious matter where women walking home felt threatened and intimidated to such an extent they called the gardaí. She said people were in fear for their safety because of Breen’s behaviour, and the offending warranted a prison sentence.

The judge said it was too soon after the event to make a decision in the case and adjourned the matter to September 22, 2026. Judge Carroll said she wanted Breen to demonstrate he could stay out of trouble and remanded him on continuing bail for a behaviour report from gardaí at the next hearing.

• Article funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme