Muslim man was verbally abused in Fairgreen car park, Carlow
Carlow courthouse Photo: Michael O'Rourke
A MAN was convicted and fined at a sitting of Carlow District Court after a judge found he had engaged in threatening and insulting behaviour motivated by racial hatred towards a Muslim man in a supermarket car park.
Seamus Fitzpatrick (60), The Swan, Woodfield, Athy, Co Kildare faced a charge under section 6A of the â a provision targeting hate-motivated public order offences â arising from an incident on 6 July 2025 at Fairgreen shopping centre car park in Carlow town. Convictions under section 6a are relatively rare.
Judge Geraldine Carthy described the case as an “unusual one”, with defence solicitor Joe Farrell adding that it was “slightly different” to what normally appears in the district court.
The court heard from the injured party, a Muslim man who had been shopping with his 11-year-old son. He told the court that after placing his shopping bags in the boot of his car, a man in a nearby vehicle began directing verbal abuse at him, calling him a “fat bastard” and a ‘‘Muslim bastard”.
The witness said he had no prior knowledge of the man and believed it was his appearance and skin colour that had provoked the outburst.
He said he began to record the incident on his phone and told the man to “f*ck off” and that he was a “racist pr*ck”, before attending a garda station to make a formal complaint.
Under cross-examination by Mr Farrell, the witness was challenged on a discrepancy between his evidence and his original statement regarding the precise words used by his client. Mr Farrell also put it to him that the footage did not capture what had occurred before he began recording and that he had not attempted to de-escalate the situation, adding “you gave as good as you got”.
The witness rejected suggestions that he had provoked the exchange, saying he had only confronted the defendant after racial abuse was directed at him. “I will face people who are racist,” he told the court.
Garda Kelly gave evidence of receiving the complaint and viewing the footage. He told the court the video clearly showed the defendant calling the injured party a “Muslim pr*ck,” a ‘‘dirty Muslim bastard” and a ‘‘dirty breed.” He confirmed the vehicle’s registration number was traced to Mr Fitzpatrick and that he subsequently admitted to gardaí he had been driving it at the time.
Footage of the video was played during the hearing.
Mr Fitzpatrick gave evidence in his own defence, telling the court that the injured party had been staring at him in the car park. He said the prolonged eye contact made him uncomfortable and nervous. “As true as God is here, I said what the f*ck are you looking at? He said ‘this is my country’ and I said ‘would you ever f*ck off, it is not your country’,” explained Mr Fitzpatrick.
Mr Fitzpatrick described the exchange as two men arguing like “two children in a playground” and said he had done nothing wrong. He also denied that there had been a boy present, saying he had seen two young girls at the scene.
He told the court he had shopped in Fairgreen for 40 years without incident and that he was a man of faith raised the “old school way” who observed daily prayers.
“I did nothing wrong to this man,” he said.
Insp Conor Nolan put it to Mr Fitzpatrick that the first words spoken between the two men had been his own â “what the f*ck are you looking at” â and asked why he had not simply started his car and driven away.
Mr Fitzpatrick replied that he did not know what might happen, vaguely suggesting the man could have had a knife. The inspector challenged him on that directly. “What indication was there that this man had a knife?” he asked. “You started the interaction.”
Mr Fitzpatrick responded with some frustration: “Because I felt uncomfortable – are you not getting this?”
He told the court he had felt intimidated throughout and insisted: “I was not anymore abusive to him than he was to me.”
In closing, Mr Farrell submitted that his client's position had been stated clearly in evidence and that the complainant had given as good as he got. He acknowledged that his client had said things in the video that were “not nice, no doubt”, but argued that the court was missing a crucial piece of the picture. “We are missing what happens before this gentleman starts recording,” he said.
He submitted there was no prosecution case beyond one man calling another a “fat pr*ck” and that without knowledge of what had preceded the footage, the full context of the exchange could not be established.
Mr Farrell also questioned why the complainant had not been charged under the standard section 6 public order provision, given his own conduct during the exchange. He noted that his client was 60 years of age, originally from rural Co Laois, with no previous convictions, and submitted that it had been an unpleasant situation that had escalated on both sides.
Outlining the elements of the section 6A offence â threatening or insulting behaviour motivated by hatred â Judge Carthy said that it was “quite clear” from what she heard in the video that Mr Fitzpatrick was guilty of the offence.
“Whether he believes that or not, the facts are quite stark,” she added.
Judge Carthy noted the defendant’s history of no previous convictions and that he was entitled to enter a plea of not guilty. She convicted and fined Mr Fitzpatrick €300, to be paid within 120 days.
Convictions under section 6a are relatively rare in Ireland. Unlike a standard public order charge, prosecutors must also establish that the offence was motivated by hatred toward a person or group based on a protected characteristic. That higher evidential burden has historically meant that few such cases result in conviction.
