Laois couple traded insults in public in early hours of morning
Portlaoise Courthouse
A LOCAL man appeared before Portlaoise District Court last week charged with a public order offence arising from a shouting match with his partner in public.
The court heard that on 2 December last year, gardaí received a report at 1.15am that morning about a domestic dispute taking place in a housing estate in Portlaoise.
When they arrived on the scene, they came across a man and his partner involved in a shouting match with each other. They divided the couple. While dealing with the woman, they took the man to one side, but he continued shouting abuse across at his partner.
Arising from the incident, Raymond Malone (43), Harpur’s Court, Portlaoise pleaded guilty to being intoxicated in public and to engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour at Harpur’s Court, Portlaoise.
Asked by Judge Andrew Cody to say what Mr Malone was shouting across to his partner, Garda Quinlan said: “He was on the footpath. He told her to f**k off and called her a dirty slut.” The court heard that the defendant has 58 previous convictions.
Defending solicitor Barry Fitzgerald said: “He has an appalling road traffic record and his public order record is nothing to write home about. He had drink taken at the time and was annoyed. His partner had called the gardaí and informed them of something that what he believed, wasn’t true. It is a fractious and tempestuous relationship and he was riled up.”
For engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, Judge Cody fined Mr Malone €250 and imposed a one-month sentence, which he suspended for two years, and took the other matter into consideration.
