A MAN who sent a threatening letters to his ex-girlfriend’s grandmother demanding she pay him €10,000 claimed he does not remember penning the letters as he was ‘off his head’ on drink and Valium.

Clinton McCahey was going through a “dark period” in his life at the time, Balbriggan District Court has heard.

McCahey accepted responsibility for sending the letters and claimed he was not going to carry out any of the threats.

McCahey (31) of Fancourt Heights in Balbriggan, Co Dublin pleaded guilty to blackmail and extortion by making unwarranted demands for €10,000 from Mrs Eileen Reynolds on May 7th and May ….read more

Man who was intoxicated and used threatening and abusive behaviour remanded on continuing bail for Probation Report

A MAN who was intoxicated and refused to leave the area when gardai directed him to several times has been remanded on continuing bail for a Probation & Welfare report.

Martin Daly (24) of Curran Park in Balbriggan pleaded guilty at Balbriggan District Court to being intoxicated and using threatening and abusive behaviour at Curran Park on June 13th.

Inspector Neil Curran gave evidence that at 12.45am gardai were called to Curran Park as Daly was in a drunken state. When Daly was requested to leave ….read more

A MAN who drove for the 13th time without having any insurance has been sentenced to five months in prison.

John Joyce (28) has also been disqualified from driving for 15 years after he pleaded guilty before Swords District Court to driving without insurance and driving without a driving licence at Templeview Avenue in Clarehall, Dublin 13 on November 11th last year.

Joyce of The mill, Edenmore in Raheny claimed he only drove the car because he was fixing the battery for his wife.

Garda Michael McCallion gave evidence that he observed Joyce driving the Ford Focus and when Joyce drove into Templeview ….read more

Further remand for young man caught with €1k worth of drugs

A YOUNG man who was caught with over €1,000 worth of drugs and a weighing scales in his home has been remanded further on continuing bail for a restorative justice report.

Judge Dermot Dempsey described the situation as a ‘commercial enterprise’ after he heard that Keith McNamara claimed he was selling the drugs to his friends so he could afford to buy his own drugs.

Judge Dempsey put the case back until December 8th and warned McNamara to attend all appointments after he heard the 22-year-old had not been attending appointments with ….read more

Teen caught with €3k worth of drugs has case adjourned for voluntary work and updated Probation report

A TEENAGER who admitted being in possession of €3,000 worth of different drugs when he was stopped by gardai has been remanded on continuing bail for a Probation & Welfare report and to complete further voluntary work over the Christmas period.

Sean McAuley (19), of Downside Park in Skerries, pleaded guilty before Balbriggan District Court to being in unlawful possession of Ketamine, MDMA and cannabis for sale or supply at North Beach in Skerries on January 29th.

Sergeant Tony Tighe said a file had been sent ….read more

AN ALCOHOLIC who was caught drink driving on his way to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting has been given a four month suspended sentence and disqualified from driving for three years.

Prezemyslaw Kutak (42) has also been convicted and fined a total of €300 for the theft of bottles of wine from a Lusk supermarket on two different occasions.

Kutak, of Baker’s Close in Lusk, pleaded guilty at Balbriggan District Court to drink driving/attempting to drive on October 29th at Dublin Street in Balbriggan.

He further pleaded guilty to the theft of six bottles of wine valued at €48 from Supervalu on Station ….read more

Eight months in prison for man who had nearly €3,400 worth of drugs in his home

A MAN who was in possession of nearly €3,400 worth of drugs has been sentenced to eight months in prison.

Dwaine O’Connell, who has 16 previous convictions, including four convictions for unlawful possession of drugs, claimed the drugs were for his own use.

O’Connell (26) of Collis Court, Jugback Lane in Swords, Co Dublin pleaded guilty before Swords District Court to the unlawful possession of €3,000 worth of cannabis resin for sale or supply at his home address on January 23rd.

He further pleaded guilty to being ….read more

TWO women who stole nearly €1,800 worth of children’s clothing from a supermarket, in what was described as an act of desperation, may escape a conviction if they make a charitable donation.

Judge Grainne O’Neill said she will apply the Probation Act if both woman make a donation of €300 each to a charity before February.

Eileen McDonagh (36) and Carolyn Ward (29) both with an address at Tara Lawns, Belcamp Lane in Dublin 17, pleaded guilty to the theft of clothing valued at €1,782.35 from Tesco Extra at Millfield Shopping Centre in Balbriggan on October 25th.

Sergeant Tony Tighe told Balbriggan District ….read more

Drunk man had no recollection of calling gardai ‘scumbags’ and ‘pr**ks’

A MAN who was drunk and called gardai ‘nothing but scumbags’ claimed he has no recollection of the night, Balbriggan District Court has heard.

Joseph McGovern had been drinking for the day when he approached two members of An Garda Siochana in a takeaway in Donabate village and started to call one garda a ‘pri**k of a garda’. He then told the gardai they were ‘nothing but scumbags.’

McGovern (39), of Barnwall Avenue in Donabate, pleaded guilty to being intoxicated and using threatening and abusive behaviour at Macari’s Takeway in Donabate village ….read more

Man who stole woman’s jacket in what has been described as a “mean and lousy act” has case struck out after he paid compensation

A MAN who stole a woman’s jacket which had her keys, mobile phone and money in it, in what a judge described as a ‘mean and lousy’ act had his case struck out after he paid compensation and completed voluntary work.

Eircom support technician Luke Nestor paid his victim €400 and completed 200 hours of voluntary work to avoid a conviction.

Nestor (21) of Castleross View in Baldoyle in Co Dublin pleaded guilty before Swords District Court to the ….read more