Mayo man who spat at garda is given a prison sentence

A MAN who spat at a garda and became abusive and threatening was given a two-month term of imprisonment when he pleaded guilty at Castlebar District Court to a charge of threatening and abusive behaviour and to being intoxicated in a public place.

The court heard that John McDonagh, 58 St. Patrick’s Estate, Ballina, had a lot of issues going back to the time of his youth which continued into his adult life and had been in and out of trouble with gardaí for a great deal of his life.

He had also served a number of terms in prison for various crimes including assault causing harm, larceny and others related to road traffic matters.

The court was told the defendant was found staggering while walking down a street in Ballina on the night of March 7, 2025.

When approached by gardaí he became aggressive and abusive and spat on one garda.

The defendant was arrested for his own safety.

Solicitor for the defendant, Mr. Gary Mulchrone, said his client had a ‘tragic’ past and was well known around the town of Ballina.

A lot of his problems were from the past which resulted in him turning to drink and he was very drunk on the night in question.

Mr. Mulchrone said while the defendant had a long history of offending and had served a number of terms in prison, he later apologised to the garda he spat at and to other members of the gardaí who tried to help him on the night in question when he was a danger to himself and to others.

The court was told the defendant was in custody since November 7 on other matters.

Judge Vincent Deane said he would give credit to the defendant for apologising to the garda he had spat at and to other members he verbally abused and insulted on the night in question.

However he said the history of offending by the defendant had to be taken into consideration and he felt a three-month term in prison was the appropriate sanction.

He added that spitting at a garda was inexcusable and would not be tolerated under any circumstances.

Judge Deane, however, gave the defendant some credit for at least apologising for his actions and behaviour and imposed a two-month prison sentence, while the took a second charge under the Public Order Act into consideration.

* Published under the Courts Reporting Scheme