Offaly man sentenced to two years imprisonment for assaulting two female Gardaí

An Offaly man was sentenced to two years imprisonment for assaulting two female Gardaí, during a recent sitting of Tullamore District Court.

Declan Mulhall, 8 The Square, Cloghan was before the court charged with an allegation that on June 18, 2020 he assaulted Garda Emer Phelan in Tullamore Garda Station.

He was also charged with assaulting Detective Garda Lucy McLoughlin in Tullamore Garda Station on October 15, 2020. Mr Mulhall pleaded not guilty to these charges.

However, he pleaded guilty to being in possession of a small amount of cannabis on April 14, 2023.

The court heard that Mr Mulhall was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving on June 18, 2020 and taken to Tullamore Garda Station.

Judge Andrew Cody pointed out that under Section 16 of the Road Traffic Act 2010 that “if a person is at a Garda Station having been arrested under Section 4 (driving while under the influence of an intoxicant) he may, if the member in charge of the station is of the opinion that the person is under the influence of an intoxicant to such an extent as to be a threat to the safety of himself or herself or others, be detained in custody for such a period (not exceeding six hours from the time of his or her arrest) as the Garda member in charge considers necessary. Mr Mulhall was arrested at 5.20pm and could be held under this provision until 11.20pm.”

The court heard that Mr Mulhall said that he had a pain in his head at 7.28pm and he asked for a doctor. He was still extremely intoxicated, despite being in custody for nearly three hours.

At about 8pm Garda Emer Phelan was the member in charge and she was satisfied that Mr Mulhall was intoxicated and was being detained for his own safety.

The court was told that Mr Mulhall was abusive and “while Garda Phelan was discussing with him the possibility of someone collecting him and taking him home, he became very aggressive and spat in Garda Phelan's face, through a small window in the cell door. Two minutes later when the doctor called at Mr Mulhall's request (and at the taxpayers' expense) arrived at 8.02 Mr Mulhall refused to cooperate with the doctor and at 8.15pm, when being discharged, he threatened to burn down the Garda Station.”

Judge Cody said: “Mr Mulhall appeared to be under the misapprehension that he should have been released but I am satisfied that the accused was lawfully in custody and that Garda Phelan was entitled to detain him at the time. Spitting is clearly an expression of hostility and anger and something that reasonable people find disgusting or at the very least deeply disrespectful. Spitting at someone during the height of the deadly pandemic is a very serious offence. I therefore find Mr Mulhall guilty of the assault on Garda Phelan.”

Mr Mulhall was subsequently arrested for questioning in relation to the assault on Garda Phelan and was arrested by Detective Garda Adrian Hanley and Detective Garda Lucy McLoughlin.

The court was told that from the moment he was arrested he was abusive. He was taken to Tullamore Garda Station at about 10.30am, where he refused to come out of cell number 2. The court was told that this was an ironic state of affairs because he had been arrested for questioning for an assault that occurred when he wanted to be released from cell number 3 in Tullamore Garda Station.

Detective Garda Hanley and Garda Crowley repeatedly asked Mr Mulhall to leave the cell and go to an interview room and he repeatedly refused to do so. The court was told that he remained hostile and abusive while in custody.

Detective Garda Hanley then set up a makeshift interview by placing a desk in the door of cell 2 with a spit guard at the front of the desk and when this was set up, Mr Mulhall apparently said after two to three hours of refusing to leave the cell that he would now leave. Detective Garda Hanley ignored this offer.

Judge Cody said the Detective was correct in doing this because he had “endured hours of hostility, truculence and abuse.” The Detective said Mr Mulhall roared and shouted aggressively at the Gardaí while they were trying to interview him, and that when the Detective was asking him a question, “he was pushing the desk and grabbed the folder and papers” from the Detective’s hands “and scrunched up the papers and threw the file and scrunched paper at Detective Garda McLoughlin and hit her on the right eyelid.”

Judge Cody found Mr Mulhall guilty of assaulting Detective McLoughlin.

On October 4, 2023 the Gardai carried out a search of Mr Mulhall’s home and found a small amount of cannabis. The defendant pleaded guilty to this offence.

Mr Mulhall had 52 previous convictions with the most recent conviction occurring on June 20, 2019 when he was sentenced to three months imprisonment for threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour, a sentence which was suspended.

The defendant had three previous convictions for being in possession of illegal drugs. He had five previous convictions for obstructing a member of the Gardaí and several convictions for threatening, insulting and abusive behaviour and five convictions for assault.

The defending solicitor said his client was 54 years of age and that his client admitted he behaved in a manner he shouldn’t and he had been feeling frustrated. The Judge said this admission was only made after he was convicted and therefore “such an expression of remorse was insincere and self-serving.”

Summing up, Judge Cody pointed out that too often “the hard and dangerous work that our Gardaí do goes unnoticed or at least unrecognised. Members of An Garda Siochana do a dangerous job and they do so to protect the rest of society. Taking abuse from an intoxicated and abusive person is not easy physically or mentally, and to be spat at in the manner that Mr Mulhall did to Garda Phelan was reprehensible as was the assault on Detective Garda McLoughlin.

“An Garda Siochana are a cornerstone of our democracy and are responsible for maintaining public order and safety, enforcing the law, and preventing, detecting and investigating criminal activities. I have a duty to the public to uphold these functions and where they are interfered with to punish appropriately.

“It hasn’t gone un-noticed that Mr Mulhall assaulted two female Gardaí. In Garda McLoughlin’s case she was surrounded by two male Gardaí and Mr Mulhall chose to throw the file and papers at Detective Garda McLoughlin who was not directly involved in the questioning. He grabbed the papers from Detective Garda Hanley, who was in the company of Garda Crowley, and chose to throw them at a female Garda. I am satisfied that the assault on Detective Garda McLoughlin was the cowardly act of a misogynistic thug.

“For the assault on Garda Phelan, I am going to sentence Mr Mulhall to 12 months imprisonment and for the assault on Detective Garda McLoughlin I am going to sentence to a further 12 months imprisonment, to run consecutive to the first sentence. The possession of drugs is taken into account.”