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Prison term for homeless man who 'defecated' on floor of Cathedral in Ennis
Richard McDermott of no fixed abode pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage at St Peter and Paul Cathedral on November 12 last
Richard McDermott of no fixed abode pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage at St Peter and Paul Cathedral on November 12 last
Reporter:
Gordon Deegan
23 Dec 2025 6:33 PM
A judge has jailed a 42-year old man for six months arising from an incident where he ‘destroyed the floor’ of a Catholic Cathedral in Ennis by defecating on it.
At Ennis District Court, Judge Alec Gabbett, jailed Richard McDermott of no fixed abode after he pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage at St Peter and Paul Cathedral at O’Connell Street, Ennis on on November 12 last.
Judge Gabbett imposed a three month term for the criminal damage charge and a consecutive one month prison term arising from an incident during which he urinated in a cell at Ennis garda station, following his arrest..
Judge Gabbett said that Mr McDermott had "destroyed the floor or Fr Tom Ryan's Cathedral" by defecating on it. He imposed a consecutive two month prison term for public order offences on the same date.
Garda Thomas Murray told the court that Mr McDermott has 97 previous convictions and committed 57 while on bail.
He said that 59 of the previous convictions are public order offences.
Garda Murray said: “Richard McDermott has a significant alcohol addiction issue which resulted in progressively abusive and violent behaviour in Ennis town and to the community in the past number of months.
Judge Gabbett said: “It is particularly sad that a man’s life is being wasted on the streets of Ennis when he should be getting treatment.”
Garda Murray said at 5.30pm on November 12, garda received a call that a group of intoxicated males were hassling mass goers at the Cathedral in Ennis
Garda Murray said that Mr McDermott “was visibly intoxicated and abusing church goers and the priest. He was telling members of the gardai, members of the public and myself to ‘F*** off’”.
Garda Murray said: "Mr McDermott was given directions to leave the area and failed repeatedly and told us to f*** off. He was then arrested and upon doing so he said ‘F*** off’ again and then proceeded to defecate on the Cathedral floor."
He added: “He lashed out at ourselves during arrest and resisted being put in the van. On arrival at the station he further obstructed us and had to be manhandled onto the cell and while in the cell he urinated all over the floor."
Garda Murray told the court that Mr McDermott “was caught red handed by ourselves and I saw everything concerning the offences alleged”.
Before Judge Gabbett imposed sentence for the criminal damage offences, Garda Murray objected to bail for Mr McDermott.
He said: "Should this man receive bail I am of the firm belief that he will commit further offences and cause a great deal of distress to the people of Ennis.”
Solicitor, Tara Godfrey for Mr McDermott said that her instructions are that Mr McDermott has a significant issue around alcoholism and more often than not he finds himself homeless around the streets.
Ms Godfrey said that Mr McDermott was homeless at the time and that the homeless services had not kept a bed for him for a variety of reasons. “He was very cold and went into the church to get warm," she said/
Explaining how Mr McDermott defecated on the Church floor, Ms Godfrey said that he had taken a lot of alcohol and he suffers from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and has other medical conditions.
Ms Godfrey said that Mr McDemott has been a client of the Brothers of Charity and has an intellectual disability and special needs.
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