Woman kept a stun gun in her bedside locker, Carlow court heard
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A CARLOW woman who kept a Taser in her bedside locker for her own protection had never taken it out of its box, and the first time it was ever switched on was when gardaí charged it during a search of the house, Carlow District Court has heard.
Melissa Flood (56) of Tanner Hall, Athy Road, Carlow avoided a conviction after Judge John King applied the on the basis that she would pay €200 to the court poor box, describing the case as “an aberration” but “a very serious matter”. Her solicitor, Chris Hogan, told the court he had instructions to enter a guilty plea to possession of a firearm, namely a stun gun.
The court heard that at 8.42pm on 1 October 2025, gardaí executed a search warrant at the defendant’s residence, a house at Tanner Hall estate in Carlow. During the search, a black Taser was found in a bedside locker.
A voluntary caution was obtained and the device was sent to the ballistics section of the Garda Technical Bureau, where it was determined to be a firearm as defined under the . In April 2026, Ms Flood was detained under section 30 of the and questioned about the stun gun. She was later released.
Asked by Judge King whether she had made the admission during the interview, Mr Hogan confirmed she had, adding that she had told gardaí she kept the device for her own safety in the home and that it had been given to her by a friend.
“Oh yeah,” replied the judge in a slightly incredulous tone, before asking whether anything else had been found in the house.
Nothing of note had been found.
The court heard that Ms Flood had one previous conviction, dating from 2001, under section 6 of the ***Public Order Act*** for threatening or abusive language or behaviour, for which she received the .
“So she has no previous,” the judge commented.
“She was not the person of interest for the search,” Mr Hogan said. “She co-operated fully with gardaí and explained how she got the stun gun.”
He told the court that his client had separated and divorced 15 years ago and moved to a rural location with her children.
“A friend came to her and said ‘you need this for protection’. She never even took it out of the box. The first time it was charged was during the search by gardaí,” the solicitor said.
Mr Hogan said that when the ballistics report came back, the prosecuting garda contacted Ms Flood and she attended a garda interview by arrangement and answered all questions put to her.
Reading from her statement, Mr Hogan quoted: “I never used it, I never took it out; the only time I saw it working was when officers charged it during a search. The children didn’t know I had it. There were robberies [in the area] at the time when it was given to me.”
Mr Hogan told the court that, owing to difficult family circumstances, Ms Flood was “the only consistency” in the lives of her grandchildren. She was also a full-time carer for another family member and was in receipt of carer’s allowance, he said. To help fund the household, she took in foreign students, for which Garda vetting was needed.
Mr Hogan said a conviction would have unintended consequences for her grandchildren, and asked the judge not to impose one. He said his client had brought €200 to court to offer as a donation.
“I can say with confidence that the prosecuting member – who is not in court – would be very sympathetic to her,” he added.
Mr Hogan said the garda “doesn’t believe her to be a risk and accepts her story in full”.
“It’s an aberration,” Judge King remarked, adding: “It is a very serious matter.” He directed that the €200 be paid to the court poor box and, “on the basis of saying I’ll never see her again”, applied section 1(1) of the .
When Mr Hogan began, “I hope I’m not overstepping…”, the judge cut in: “That’s the best you’ll get today.”
