A woman has had a year added to her prison sentence after admitting a long series of alcohol-related public-order offences, most of which took place outside her south Dublin home – including an incident where she tried to bite and head-butt a garda.
The defendant, who is aged in her 40s, pleaded guilty to all matters before Tallaght District Court, where Judge Patricia McNamara noted there were “a lot” of matters before her. The new terms will run consecutively to the custodial sentence the woman has been serving since September 2025.
The new terms will run consecutively to the custodial sentence she has been serving since September 2025.
The current offending, the court heard, spanned from early 2023 into late 2024 and involved repeated incidents where the defendant was found intoxicated, abusive or causing disturbances on her residential road.
Defence counsel said that their client is the full-time carer for her mother, who has dementia, and has struggled to remain in residential addiction treatment because she is regularly called home to look after her mother.
Judge McNamara said she accepted this but was “really disappointed” that the defendant hasn’t been able to “find anywhere she can deal with her addictions to alcohol”.
The judge remarked that the woman came before her “years back” and described her as someone with “great potential and good qualifications,” adding that the situation was “such a shame”.
She said she was fully satisfied that the bulk of the offending happened outside the woman’s own home, but stressed that “the neighbours are victims here too”, as gardaí were repeatedly called to the same street late at night, “at all hours”, only to be met with intoxication and abuse.
This, she said, was “taking up the time of An Garda Síochána” and was “all being paid for by the State”.
The most serious incident before the court occurred on 13 February 2023, at around 5.31pm, when gardaí were called to the woman’s home and found her highly intoxicated. She became aggressive and attempted to bite and head-butt Garda Conor Lavin, though neither attempt succeeded.
Judge McNamara imposed a five-month sentence on this count.
A second incident on 7 October 2024, shortly after 8pm, involved gardaí responding to reports of a highly intoxicated woman outside her home. She was slurring her words, became abusive and kicked a patrol van. Judge McNamara imposed another two months.
The final custodial term related to the early hours of 9 December, 2024 at a Tesco store, where the defendant was found banging on the glass entrance while intoxicated. She refused to leave when directed and continued causing a disturbance.
The woman pleaded guilty to failing to comply with a Garda direction under Section 8, and Judge McNamara handed down another five month sentence.
All other matters, including several Section 4 intoxication offences and earlier public-order incidents, were taken into consideration.
Judge McNamara said she was “taking into account a lot of charges”.
The total additional 12 months, made up of five months, two months and five months, was ordered to run consecutively to the sentence the woman has been serving since September 2025.
Judge McNamara added that an addiction was the driving force behind the woman’s behaviour. She said she hoped that while the woman was in custody, “she won’t be able to get access to alcohol”.