Off-duty garda who assaulted hotel porter while ‘paralytic drunk' spared conviction

Irish Times

21 hours ago

An off-duty
garda
who has represented
Roscommon
at senior inter-county football level got 'paralytic drunk' after drinking sambucas during an 'alcohol-fuelled' stag weekend before assaulting a hotel porter in Ennis, Co Clare, a court has heard.
At Ennis District Court, Judge Alec Gabbett commented: 'It is a shame really that but for the isolated incident on a stag night where Caoileann Fitzmaurice drank sambuca he probably wouldn't be here at all.'
The garda was spared a conviction, with the judge imposing the Probation Act instead. He will still face internal Garda disciplinary proceedings.
Judge Gabbett said: 'Mr Fitzmaurice had four or five drinks and all of a sudden he was paralytic drunk and he had to be brought home. Then he was confronted by this nice man [Olufegun Lawal] who was trying to direct him to the right place when the melee ensued.'
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Judge Gabbett said that Mr Fitzmaurice was on 'an alcohol-fuelled weekend'.
In the case, Mr Fitzmaurice (31), who is stationed at Pearse Street Garda Station in Dublin, pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Lawal at the Queen's Hotel, Abbey Street, Ennis in Co Clare on January 21st, 2023.
Judge Gabbett said that he would not be imposing a conviction on Mr Fitzmaurice for the late-night assault and instead imposed the Probation Act on the man and made a compensation order for €5,000, which was handed over to Mr Lawal.
Judge Gabbett said that he was not convicting Mr Fitzmaurice of the offence 'due to the exemplary fashion in which he has engaged with the Probation Services'.
He said: 'He has met the case head on, shown remorse, apologised, faced up to it and paid compensation.'
Judge Gabbett said: 'He has received significant publicity for this crime, which is very difficult for his family, his club mates and his colleagues.'
He said: 'I am very conscious of the notoriety that this case has brought him – unfortunately Mr Google will follow him around for a long time.'
Judge Gabbett said that he wouldn't expect to see Mr Fitzmaurice in a court again other than in his role as a State witness.
He said that it is never easy for a member of An Garda Síochána to be before the courts.
Judge Gabbett said that he was conscious of the internal disciplinary proceedings within An Garda Síochána which, he said, will have to happen because it is an assault.
Counsel for Mr Fitzmaurice, Cian Kelly BL, asked that the case be struck out due to the manner in which Mr Fitzmaurice has met the case.
Judge Gabbett said that he didn't think it would change the outcome of the disciplinary process if the case was struck out.
Mr Kelly said: 'Unfortunately, having dealt with the minutiae of that disciplinary process I am very conscious that minute differences have significant ramifications in that process.'
Judge Gabbett said: 'The court has come as much as it can in terms of sanction.'
State Solicitor for Clare, Aisling Casey, said: 'From the very outset, the victim wanted an acknowledgement that he had done nothing wrong and the accused was apologetic to him.' Mr Lawal opted not to provide a victim impact statement to the court.
On his way out of the courtroom, Mr Fitzmaurice shook hands with Mr Lawal.
Mr Kelly previously said that before the Ennis incident Mr Fitzmaurice was a Garda on beat patrol and is currently on Garda office duties
Mr Kelly said that Mr Fitzmaurice is heavily involved in GAA and is captain of local senior football team Michael Glaveys in Roscommon.