Penny Dinners staff abused by drunken client
John O’Brien, aged 44, from Kells, Co Meath, who has been living in hostels in Cork for years, was jailed for two months for his actions during that and other recent incidents of a similar nature around Cork City.
Inspector Vincent O’Sullivan told Cork District Court yesterday O’Brien went to Cork Penny Dinners at lunchtime on June 23.
“He availed of the services and had a three-course meal. He fell asleep. He had to be woken and began roaring and shouting,” said Insp O’Brien.
He refused to leave so staff had to call gardaí. By the time they arrived outside they could hear O’Brien inside shouting at staff.
Insp O’Sullivan said the staff at Penny Dinners did not want to proceed with a complaint against O’Brien. However, the defendant was prosecuted as he failed to go away from outside the premises when gardaí directed him to leave. He was also abusive towards gardaí.
Diarmuid Kelleher, solicitor, said the defendant’s drunken behaviour rarely escalated to being threatening and abusive. He said that O’Brien had suffered a lot as a result of being homeless and drinking on the streets and had the signs of having been assaulted several times.
Judge Olann Kelleher said it was bad enough to behave in this way generally but all the more so when the accused was acting like this with people who had looked after him.
He imposed an overall jail sentence of two months.
That sentence also covered similar incidents where he refused to leave a bus on Parnell Place on February 3, 2015, was drunk and abusive at Paddy Power on Cornmarket St and later at The Roundy Bar on March 18, and at Argos on the Grand Parade.
