Man fined for calling woman a ‘f****** rat’ during incident in Limerick village

A MAN who was verbally abusive towards a garda sergeant when he moved to seize his car was fined €300 after he was convicted of several public order charges including engaging in disorderly conduct.

At Kilmallock Court, Matthew Quinn, aged 62, of Glen Court, Emly was convicted, in his absence, of charges relating to an incident which occurred at Main Street, Hospital shortly after midnight on October 15, 2021.

Sergeant Martin Concannon of Kilmallock garda station told the court he was on duty in the village when he was alerted to a man who was sitting in the driver seat of a Toyota Avensis which was parked up.

While the car was not turned on and the keys were not in the ignition, the sergeant said he was aware the defendant was disqualified from driving at the time.

Having approached the car, he told Mr Quinn to get out and advised him he was seizing the vehicle under the provisions of the Road Traffic Act.

Judge Colm Roberts was told the defendant was intoxicated and that he was verbally abusive towards Sgt Concannon.

He also began shouting at a number of women who were standing nearby at the time.

Sgt Concannon said he called one of the women a “f****** rat” and that he had concerns that he represented a potential threat to the woman.

“I felt he would endanger her if he remained,” he said adding that he then directed Mr Quinn to leave the area under the provisions of the Public Order Act.

Judge Roberts was told the defendant complied with the request and that there were no further incidents on the night.

On-the-spot fines were subsequently issued and court proceedings were initiated when they were not paid.

After being informed by Inspector Pat Brennan that Mr Quinn has “many” previous convictions, Judge Roberts commented that he is “no spring chicken”.

Fines totalling €300 were imposed.