Man admits intimidation of witness in Laois

A man admitted intimidating a woman who was a witness in a court case at Portlaoise Courthouse. 

Jake Maher (22) of 9 North Frederick Street, Dublin 1, pleaded guilty to intimidating the woman at Portlaoise Courthouse on July 20, 2023. 

Garda Sergeant JJ Kirby told a sitting of Portlaoise District Court that the woman didn’t want to make a victim impact statement in relation to the incident. 

He said the woman had been a witness in an aggravated burglary case and she was threatened on the Main Street outside the court in relation to the investigation. 

Sgt Kirby said the accused had shouted at her outside the court saying, “you better not get Dylan locked up or there will be murder”.  The incident had occurred on a Thursday afternoon at 3.40pm, he said.  Sgt Kirby said the accused has 33 previous convictions. 

A barrister for the accused said her client had written a letter of apology and was 19 years old when the offence had occurred. She said he has been in care of the State since he was three years old and was now living in a hostel in Dublin.

“He was struggling with some drug addiction at the time of the offence,” the barrister said. 

She said the man’s mother, who lives in Laois,  suffered a serious injury and was unable to walk. “He brings her into Portlaoise and visits her a lot,” she explained. 

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The barrister said her client was trying to find work and “he is really trying to turn his life around”. She asked Judge Susan Fay to consider allowing the man to engage with probation services. 

Judge Fay said she was satisfied that it was appropriate to deal with the matter by way of community service. She imposed 100 hours of community service in lieu of nine months in prison.