Woman who can’t mind her own business gets eight-month sentence
Her solicitor said she 'had a very turbulent relationship with her neighbours'
A JUDGE told a 51-year-old Mountrath woman that she seems to have a complete inability to mind her own business when he sentenced her to eight months in prison.
Judge Andrew Cody made the comment at Portlaoise District Court last week when sentencing Geraldine Doheny, Old Forge Crescent, Mountrath after she was convicted at a previous hearing of engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour as well as criminal damage on 9 August last at Old Forge Crescent.
Garda Hogan told the court that the accused had two previous convictions, one for affray and the other for criminal damage.
He said the incident of affray occurred when Ms Doheny’s neighbour had driven into the housing estate. She stood in front of his car and produced a hurl during an altercation. The criminal damage took place at the same location and again with the neighbour following a verbal altercation.
Defending barrister Donal Callaghan said that his client has “had a very turbulent relationship with her neighbours. Something serious needs to be done in terms of transferring her by the council or she will be living there for the rest of her life. She simply has to be got out of the area. Whatever altercations have taken place have been of personal verbal nature”.
Regarding the issue of criminal damage, Mr Callaghan said the incident involved a necklace that ended up “down a drain”.
He said the two charges against his client relate to “a verbal disagreement that arose from her neighbour not having road tax on his car” and she agrees it was “taken completely out of order”.
Mr Callaghan said that his client lives next door to the injured party and instead of imposing a custodial sentence that perhaps she should be ordered to take part in a restorative justice programme, be referred to the probation and welfare services, or for a course in anger management.
“But for the sake of the neighbours, a resolution to this has to be reached,” he said.
“This is her third time back in this court for fighting with her neighbours,” said Judge Cody,” “she seems to have a complete inability to mind her own business. It was none of her business that the car tax had expired by a month. She involved herself and abused someone on the side of the road. She headbutted and produced a hurl on another occasion.
“This was her third and last chance,” he said, before going on to impose a six-month sentence with the final three months suspended for the criminal damage charge and a two-month sentence to run concurrently for engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour.
Before the court concluded, Ms Doheny appealed the sentences.
