Man jailed for abusing gardaí and staff in Mayo hospital emergency department

A MAN who abused hospital staff and gardaí while intoxicated in the Emergency Department of Mayo University Hospital was sentenced to two months imprisonment last week.

Bernie Corcoran (32) of Cregaun, Ballinasloe, Co Galway appeared before Castlebar District Court where he was sentenced after pleading guilty to public order offences following an incident in Mayo University Hospital on March 18, 2025.

Court presenter, Sergeant Conor McShane, explained that gardaí in Castlebar were called to an incident in the Emergency Department of the hospital at around 6.25am. He explained that the defendant had been sleeping on chairs in the waiting room for a number of hours and appeared not to be seeking any treatment.

When he was asked to leave he became abusive to staff and Sgt McShane said that when gardaí arrived he became abusive to them and told them to ‘f*** off’ and to leave him alone. He was eventually arrested and charged with threatening and abusive behaviour and intoxication in a public place.

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Judge Vincent Deane was informed that Mr Corcoran has 46 previous convictions and his solicitor Mr Gary Mulchrone said the incident spoke for itself and could not have happened in a worse place with sick people seeking care.

Mr Mulchrone said his client wished to apologise for his behaviour and that he accepted he has difficulty with alcohol and was looking to deal with issues in his life.

The court was also informed that Mr Corcoran was serving a suspended prison sentence at the time of the offence.

Judge Deane commented that he placed that seriousness of the offence at the high end because of the location of the offence and the defendant’s previous record. He said that a two month sentence was the appropriate sentence and sentenced Mr Corcoran to two months in prison.