A Castlebar man who had a safety order placed on him to attempt to stop him behaving violently towards his wife was jailed last week after a garda witnessed him throw a bottle through the rear window of his wife’s car.
Thomas McDonagh of 56, An Sruthan, Turlough Road, Castlebar appeared before Castlebar District Court charged with breaching a safety order, with criminal damage and with being intoxicated in a public place.
Garda Tom Fleming told the court that he was on patrol on Spencer Street at 8.20pm on the morning of April 1 when he spotted McDonagh run after a car and throw a bottle through the rear window. Garda Fleming said that when he spoke to McDonagh he claimed someone else did it and he was intoxicated.
He told the court that McDonagh had stood in front of his wife’s car and got in. When she managed to get him out of the car, he chased after her and threw the bottle, causing €200 of damage.
There had been a safety order in place, that McDonagh would have no contact with his wife.
The court heard McDonagh had 24 previous convictions for a range of offences including assault, drug possession, larceny, escaping from custody, public order and safety order breaches.
With McDonagh already in custody arising out of earlier safety order breaches, Judge Mary Devins sentenced him to six more months in jail for the safety order breach on April first. He also received jail terms for the criminal damage and public order charges, however they are to run concurrent to the six month jail sentence.