Latest news with #MallowDistrictCourt
Irish Examiner
22-07-2025
- Irish Examiner
Man convicted of careless driving and possession of cocaine has turned his life around, court hears
A van driver who was stopped because he was driving in a careless manner and admitted to possession of cannabis and cocaine has been drug-free for more than a year, the district court was told. Detective Garda Brendan McGarry told Mallow District Court that Kevin Mullins, aged 30, of Evanwood, Castletroy, Co Limerick, was the driver of a white Renault Master van that was observed driving at Newberry near Mallow on August 26, 2023. Det McGarry said the van was going around bends too quickly, causing it to sway on its rear suspension. Det McGarry said while Mullins' driving 'wasn't great', road conditions were good on what was a warm summer's evening at 6.30pm. He conceded the accused's driving was at the 'lower end' of the criteria for dangerous driving, and could reasonably be considered as careless driving. The court was told Mullins would offer a plea of guilty to the lesser charge of careless driving, and was also pleading guilty to possession of small amounts of cannabis on two occasions and cocaine on one occasion at Holycross, Charleville, Co Cork, on November 17, 2023. The court heard Mullins had 18 previous convictions, and had been disqualified from driving since the incident in question for drug-driving. Defence solicitor Cathal Lombard said his client had been fully co-operative at all times and had subsequently been in prison. He said Mullins had gone through a traumatic period in his life where a 'number of serious illnesses' had affected those close to him. He said Mullins had been drug-free for over a year, was engaging with addiction services and the probation service and had been in employment. He said Mullins had also completed a pro-social driving course. Judge Colm Roberts said: 'I hope you are the person your solicitor says you have become', and agreed to reduce the dangerous-driving charge to one of careless-driving. He convicted Mullins of that offence, disqualifying him from driving for one year and imposing a fine of €250, with one month to pay. For possession of cocaine, he was sentenced to three months in prison, suspended for one year, and placed under probation service supervision for six months. The two charges of possession of cannabis were taken into consideration. This article is funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme
Irish Examiner
22-07-2025
- Irish Examiner
Cork man who performed 'donuts' in front of 150 people gets two-year driving ban
A Cork man who performed 'donuts' in front of a crowd of more than 150 people has been disqualified from driving in the district court. Court presenter Inspector Anthony Harrington told Mallow District Court that a garda patrol came upon a meeting of car enthusiasts after midnight at a rural location at Tooreen South, Bottle Hill, Mallow on February 21, 2025. Giving evidence, Garda James Cullinane said that at 12.42am he approached a large crowd of spectators he estimated to be between 150 and 200 people watching a car doing donuts on the public road. He told the court that the car was spinning its wheels and there was a lot of smoke from the manoeuvres it was carrying out. Gda Cullinane said it was a wet night and the conditions at the time were foggy. He approached the car to prevent it from driving off and he spoke to the driver, identified as Dale Walsh, aged 21, of Mannix's Cottage, Killeens, Co Cork. Walsh was arrested for dangerous driving and taken to Mallow Garda Station where he was formally charged. Defence solicitor Cathal Lombard said the incident occurred at a remote rural location near forestry and asked Judge Colm Roberts to consider reducing the charge from one of dangerous driving to the lesser charge of careless driving. Mr Lombard said his client was fully co-operative, had no previous convictions and was a very young man. He said his client has since undertaken a pro-social driving course and had never been in trouble before. Judge Roberts said: 'If the court takes the view that doing donuts with 100 or 150 people watching after midnight is not dangerous driving, we may as well all go home.' The judge said that Walsh had obtained his licence and he wasn't aware of the part of the driving test exam that stated 'it's grand to do donuts'. The judge said it was not a marginal case where he could reduce the charge and clearly came under the definition of dangerous driving. He convicted Walsh of dangerous driving and disqualified him from driving for the mandatory two-year period and agreed to defer commencement of the driving ban to November 1. He also fined Walsh €250 and allowed him one month to pay. The judge added: 'It was a serious error of judgement. It seems I'm being told to care about his driving licence — when he didn't.' Recognisance for appeal was fixed at €500 with €250 cash. This article is funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme
Irish Examiner
15-07-2025
- Irish Examiner
Two of three men who appealed jail terms for carrying weapons as part of ongoing feud have sentences upheld
A claw-hammer, a hurley, a slash-hook handle and three sledgehammer handles were seized by Mallow gardaí in the investigation of a feud between two families which 'sullies the name of Mallow and frightens members of the public'. Three men who were prosecuted for having this stash of weapons in a car on March 18, 2023, appealed against jail terms imposed on them at Mallow District Court. However, the sentences were affirmed, with the exception of one man having the last month of his sentence suspended. Detective Garda David Forsythe said at Cork Circuit Appeals Court on Tuesday that gardaí received an anonymous call from a concerned member of the public that members of the O'Brien family in Doneraile were on their way at lunchtime that day as part of a planned attack on the home of the O'Flaherty family on Connolly Road in Mallow. Gardaí intercepted an orange BMW being driven towards River Valley, Mallow, Co Cork, and because of a smell of cannabis they indicated personal searches together with a search of the car were going to be carried out. The five occupants of the car cooperated, as weapons, including the hammer, hurley and implement handles, were found in the car. Det Garda Forsythe said there was no sign of the feud between the families abating and recently the conflict broke out in a physical altercation at Mallow courthouse, which disrupted court proceedings for a period and spilled out on the street. 'From a Garda point of view, it is quite time-consuming trying to keep a lid on these things. It is quite serious for people living in Mallow — it sullies the name of Mallow and frightens members of the public. 'Gardaí received a call that day that members of the O'Brien family in Doneraile were going to launch an attack on the O'Flaherty family in Mallow. 'The evidence is that it is still ongoing,' Det Garda Forsythe testified on Tuesday. Barristers Brian Leahy and Liam M O'Brien asked for the sentences to be suspended or community service orders imposed instead of the jail terms, stressing there was no evidence against them causing any damage to the O'Flahertys' property and that their only offence was of being in possession of the implements. However, Judge Boyle affirmed the six-month sentences under appeal by 37-year-old Kevin O'Brien and 49-year-old Richard O'Brien — both of Ballydineen halting site, Doneraile, Co Cork. In respect of the five-month sentence appealed by 21-year-old Kevin Barry, of Inchnagree, Buttevant, Co Cork, Judge Boyle suspended the last month of the sentence. All three appellants were then taken into custody to commence their sentences on the single charge of possession of the weapons on the day in March 2023.
Sunday World
11-07-2025
- Sunday World
Dog breeder avoids jail on appeal of three-month sentence in animal neglect case
COMMUNITY SERVICE | Vasyl Fedoryn (41), a Ukrainian man with Irish citizenship, living at Ballypierce, Charleville, had pleaded guilty earlier this year at Mallow District Court to a total of nine breaches of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 on April 21, 2023, in relation to 13 dogs he was breeding at his home. Vasyl Fedoryn (41), a Ukrainian man with Irish citizenship, living at Ballypierce, Charleville, had pleaded guilty earlier this year at Mallow District Court to a total of nine breaches of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 on April 21, 2023, in relation to 13 dogs he was breeding at his home. Judge Colm Roberts sentenced Fedoryn to five months in jail with two months suspended, fined him €500, ordered him to pay costs of €16,450 to the ISPCA to cover the veterinary and dental costs as well as vaccination and grooming costs while he also ordered him to pay the Dept's legal costs of €3,000. But Fedoryn, represented by Charleville solicitor, Denis Linehan lodged an appeal against the custodial part of the sentence and the case came up for hearing last week before Judge Helen Boyle at Mallow Circuit Appeal, sitting at the Anglesea Street Courthouse in Cork. ISPCA Animal Welfare Inspector, Caroline Faherty told the court how the dogs she found in two sheds on Fedoryn's property were the worst she had ever encountered with the animals being kept in the dark with no light and no bedding and being forced to lie in their own faeces. Ms Faherty said she found a German Shepherd bitch and four pups in one shed where they had no water and when she filled a bowl with water, the bitch, who was lactating, was so dehydrated she started gulping the water down at such a rate she had to remove the bowl in case she became ill. The matted state of one of the dogs rescued from the property. Animal Welfare Inspect Caroline Faherty said it was the 'worst' case of animal neglect she had ever encountered in her career. She was commended by the judge for having saved the dogs from what would likely have been a slow and painful death. News in 90 Seconds - July 11th She found three German Shepherd pups and five Collie pups in another shed with no light, no bedding and their coats matted from lying in their own excrement, while the lack of stimulation had resulted in the Collies being so nervous that they tried to bite her and were feral. 'It was absolutely horrific the state that I found the dogs in – I still have nightmares of going into the shed,' said Ms Faherty, adding the three German Shepherd pups could not walk properly and were instead walking on their back knees as they were malnourished and had no leg-muscle mass. Ms Faherty became upset as she described the state of the animals and conditions that she found them in and said such was the stench of urine and faeces, she found herself retching and had to leave the shed several times to get air. She wrote up a seizure notice on the spot and she and her colleagues in the ISPCA removed the dogs from both sheds but three of the Collie pups were so feral they could not be rehabilitated and had to be euthanized while one of the German Shepherds also had to be euthanized. Collies and German shepherds were intelligent working dogs and needed to be exercised and socialised, but Fedoryn's dogs were left locked up in small sheds without regular food or water and became emaciated and their coats became matted with faeces and infested with maggots. What made the situation even more distressing was the fact there was plenty of bedding and food for the dogs on the property, but Fedoryn had given neither to the animals. 'I asked him why he hadn't, and he said he was going to do this, that and the other for the dogs but he didn't.' Ms Faherty said that Fedoryn saw nothing wrong with the way he was treating the dogs and was 'completely unrepentant' about his care of them and he later breached an undertaking not to keep any animals at his holding when she found that he had begun keeping cats there. Defence barrister, Paula McCarthy BL said her client had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity, had no previous convictions and had been of good behaviour since while she pointed out he was not appealing the €500 fine, dog rehabilitation costs of €16,450 and legal costs of €3,000. Ms McCarthy acknowledged her client had not appreciated the seriousness of the matter when it was first brought to his attention, but he now accepted the gravity of his offending and was remorseful while she pointed out a probation report found he was at a low risk of re-offending. She said that he was working full time as a truck driver and if he were to get a custodial sentence, he would lose his job and that would have repercussions for his young son for although he and his wife were separated, he was supporting his son financially. Ms McCarthy also submitted that the courts had acknowledged that custodial sentences can be more difficult for foreign nationals than for Irish people as they don't have the same family support in terms of visits as she pleaded with Judge Boyle not to jail him. Judge Boyle said she needed time to consider the matter and remanded Fedoryn in custody over lunch to consider the matter and when she returned, she said she hoped that he appreciated what being in custody was like. 'You have spent some time in a prison cell. I felt I had to show you the inside of a prison cell because of what you did,' said Judge Boyle before allowing the appeal and suspending the full five-month sentence on condition he completes 240 hours community service. Judge Boyle singled out Ms Faherty for praise, saying that if it was not for her work and her decision to remove the dogs, she had no doubt but that all 13 dogs and puppies belonging to Fedoryn at his property would have died. 'Ms Faherty is to be commended for saving the lives of these dogs – some had to be euthanised later, but a veterinary inspector was of the opinion that they would all have died and died a slow painful death from neglect if Ms Faherty had not removed them. 'Dogs obviously need to be fed and watered, but they also need to be exercised and stimulated, and they need love and care and attention, and they got none of these under your care,' Judge Boyle told Fedoryn as she allowed his appeal.
Irish Examiner
25-06-2025
- Irish Examiner
'Stealing is not the solution', judge tells man who stole food from Cork supermarket
A young Slovakian man who admitted stealing food from a Cork supermarket has been told by a district court judge that stealing is not the solution if he finds himself in difficulty. Inspector Tony O'Sullivan told Mallow District Court that David Kotulak, aged 19, of Cloughjordan Road, Borrisokane, Co Tipperary was charged with one count of theft relating to an incident that happened in Fermoy, Co Cork, on May 23, 2024. The court heard Mr Kotulak was in Aldi supermarket in the town pushing a shopping trolley with a large red shopping bag in it and a small child wrapped in a blanket. The bag contained €88 worth of food and Mr Kotulak proceeded to leave the store with the trolley without paying for the items. The court heard the theft was caught on CCTV and the accused had pleaded guilty. The court was also told Mr Kotulak had seven previous convictions, three for theft and four for road traffic offences. Defence solicitor Matthew Bermingham said his client was originally from Slovakia and had been living in Ireland for two years. He said he was now working and his young age offered 'some hope of rehabilitation'. Mr Kotulak said the child was not his and he had resorted to theft to eat because he had no income. Judge Colm Roberts said: 'He has to understand if he has no money there are places he can go to help him with food so he doesn't have to steal. The State can give emergency assistance, organisations like the St Vincent de Paul can give assistance. Going and stealing is not the solution if you have no money.' Mr Kotulak was sentenced to four months in prison, with three months suspended for one year to run consecutively to a sentence he is already serving. He was also ordered to stay out of Aldi in Fermoy for one year. Recognisance for appeal was fixed in his own bond of €500, with €100 in cash. This article is funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme
