An anti-immigration activist, who was convicted of a public order offence last year after he refused to make a donation to the Irish Refugee Council, has been given the benefit of the Probation of the Offenders Act after the money was allocated to another charity.
Derek Blighe, of Croughevoe, Mitchelstown in Co Cork, was last year given the opportunity at Fermoy District Court to avail of the act by making a donation to the Irish Refugee Council.
A conviction followed when the 44-year-old failed to donate the money.
At a sitting of Cork Circuit Appeals Court in March of this year, his then-barrister Alan O'Dwyer said that it was "purely a religious matter".
He said that his client’s difficulty was with the position taken by the Irish Refugee Council on the repeal of the 8th Amendment to the Constitution in relation to abortion.
Judge Helen Boyle told Blighe that instead of paying €400 to the Irish Refugee Council, he could pay €500 to Nasc, an advocacy service which links migrants and refugees to their rights.
Blighe indicated his willingness to make the contribution.
However, Cork Circuit Appeals Court today heard that the money had not been paid to Nasc.
When the case was first mentioned, Blighe told Judge Boyle that his faith did not permit him to donate the money to Nasc due to its stance on the unborn child.
When the case came back before Judge Boyle, she asked Blighe if he had the money in court.
He said that he did and she directed that he hand over €500 to the sergeant.
Judge Boyle then directed the funds be allocated to the Irish Red Cross.
Blighe represented himself in court.
