‘If he could extricate himself from the house, he’d do a lot better’

A SOLICITOR for a man convicted of being abusive to gardaí said his client is ‘not impressed’ with himself.

Gardaí received a call from the house Martin Donoghue shares with his mother at Forest Park, Virginia, on June 5, 2025.

Sergeant Damien Galligan said the phone was dropped but, when officers attended the property, they saw the defendant in an intoxicated state in the garden.

“His mother came out of the house and said Martin was not welcome back into their home,” Sgt Galligan said

As officers attempted to quell the situation, Donoghue (27) was verbally abusive to them.

When he was arrested and taken to Bailieborough Garda Station, gardaí found approximately €10 worth of cannabis on his person.

Donoghue was brought from Castlerea Prison where he had been remanded in custody since January 9 for breaching his bail conditions.

When he appeared before Judge Raymond Finnegan at Cavan District Court on January 27 it was on three charges including being intoxicated in a public place; using abusive or threatening language and/or behaviour to gardaí; and possession of cannabis.

“Very heavy drinking is going on in this house,” defence solicitor, Gerard Nevin, told the judge, “He has an issue with drink himself...

Continued on page 27 across

Continued from bottom of page 26

“He is an equal householder to his mother,” Mr Nevin continued. “Cavan County Council take rent out of his welfare payments every month.”

The solicitor said three weeks in prison had given his client “time to think about his drinking”.

“He’s not impressed with himself and the way he spoke to guards,” Mr Nevin continued. “Drink is the main issue.”

Judge Finnegan convicted Martin Donoghue of abusing gardaí and sentenced him to two months in prison but he back-dated the sentence to January 6 when he first went into custody.

The charges of being intoxicated in a public place and being in possession of the small quantity of cannabis were taken into consideration.

“ You’ll probably be out [of prison] straight away,” Judge Finnegan told Martin Donoghue.

“I believe if he could extricate himself from the house, he’d do a lot better,” solicitor Gerard Nevin told the judge.

“He should because it’s not serving him well,” responded Judge Finnegan, concluding the case.