A judge has dismissed public order charges against a diabetic man who was arrested after gardaí found him slumped over a railing in Ballsbridge, ruling there was enough doubt that he may have been suffering a medical emergency rather than acting aggressively drunk.
“I kept saying I needed insulin,” the defendant Ben Whelan told the District Court of his interaction with gardai.
Mr Whelan (26), of Woodbank Avenue, Finglas, Dublin 11, had pleaded not guilty at Dún Laoghaire District Court to being intoxicated in a public place and engaging in threatening or abusive behaviour on Pembroke Road, Dublin 4, in the early hours of November 10, 2024.
Judge Anne Watkin dismissed both charges after hearing sharply conflicting accounts from gardaí and the defence about what happened at around 4am that morning.
Garda Stuart Temple told the court that he came across the accused slumped over a railing, during what he described as “breaks of the peace” in the area.
The garda said there was a strong smell of alcohol from Mr Whelan, who he said appeared highly intoxicated, agitated and was “swinging his hands around in the air”.
The court heard the accused allegedly became verbally abusive after gardaí advised him and his partner to get a taxi home.
Garda Temple said the accused shouted “f****** arrest me then” and also made comments including “I pay your wages”.
Defence counsel, Silvia Maria Crowley BL, told the court that her client was a severe diabetic who had lost his insulin pen earlier that night while attending a cousin’s 21st birthday party.
The court heard that Mr Whelan and his girlfriend had been arguing over the missing insulin before the interaction with gardaí.
Mr Whelan took the stand, telling the court that he had consumed four pints of Guinness earlier in the evening but insisted he was trying to explain to gardaí that he needed medical help.
“I apologised straight away,” he said.
“I kept saying I needed insulin.”
Mr Whelan claimed he repeatedly told gardaí he could not go long without insulin and later became seriously unwell in custody.
The court heard an ambulance was eventually called and Mr Whelan said he later required hospital treatment.
Mr Whelan’s girlfriend told the court that the defendant had been holding onto the railing because he was becoming unwell rather than drunk, adding that she informed gardaí he was insulin-dependent and needed help.
Judge Watkin said there were “two different stories” before the court and noted the absence of detailed notes, given the incident happened in November 2024.
The judge said the accused had admitted being aggressive in attitude and accepted he made certain remarks, but she questioned whether the conduct reached the legal threshold required for a Section 6 public order offence.
Judge Watkin said that even on the prosecution case, it was accepted an ambulance was later required and there was a realistic possibility the accused had been suffering a medical episode.
“He probably looked like he was drunk”, the judge said.
The judge added alcohol “didn’t help him”, but said she had “enough doubt over the case” to dismiss both charges.