Irish People Party election candidate Ross Lahive has been given a three-month jail sentence at Tralee District Court this afternoon for his part in disrupting a 'drag story' event for children at Tralee Library in July last year.
Judge David Waters said Lahive, 45, with an address at Church Street, Shandon, Cork was "the prime mover" and had shown zero remorse for his part in the violent attack during which children had to be shielded, and words like "prostitutes" and "grooming" were used.
The only threat to the children was the three who arrived from Cork with the intention of disrupting the event, Judge Waters said. He refused to consider a suspended sentence.
Fines have been handed down in the case of the two co-accused Margo Mills and Stephen McGeough. The three had denied all the charges.
Hearings of the case took place in Tralee and Listowel, during which video footage was shown of noisy disruption of the event organised by Kingdom Pride.
Last Monday, all three were convicted by Judge Waters. Sentencing was deferred to allow victim impact statements to be handed in by State solicitor Diane Reidy.
Lahive, who was an Irish People Party candidate in the Ireland South constituency in the European elections, had denied assaulting four people, including a library security guard, a woman, a male photographer for the event, and another man.
He was convicted on all four assault charges contrary to Section 2 of Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997.
Eugene Manley, barrister for Lahive, in a plea for mitigation at the sentencing said his client had cooperated fully with gardaí, was not under the influence of drugs or drink and was entitled to his views.
Mr Lahive, who is unemployed, had previously worked in construction and had studied computer programming. He had worked in Canada, the US and Australia. He was currently engaged to do a SafePass "manual handling course" and "wished to get his life back on track," Mr Manley said.
Lahive accepted there were "high emotions" on the day.
The court was told he had a previous conviction for public order offence, dating to a month prior to the Tralee Library incident. He was given the probation act on 4 December for that incident.
Judge Waters said Lahive was "the prime mover", adding that he had carried out video recordings which were of great help to the court, and had uploaded them on social media, among them video of six-year-old children.
"That can’t be tolerated," the judge said.
People were entitled to protest and had there been a peaceful protest "we would not be here today," Judge Waters said.
There was no expression of remorse and only a slight glimmer of insight that he had carried out assaults, the judge said.
After a brief consultation with Lahive, Mr Manley told the Judge: "He stands by his moral views, he instructs me." Judge Waters said Mr Manley’s client was not in court because of his moral views.
"He’s not in court because of his moral views. He’s here because he assaulted people and caused upset to six and seven-year-old children," the judge said.
He had shown zero remorse, the judge added, and he could not avoid a custodial sentence.
He sentenced Lahive to three months in the case of one assault and two months each in the case of the three other persons all to run concurrently. The public order conviction is being taken into consideration.
Margo Mills, a 37-year-old part-time clerical officer of Carnloch Drive, The Glen, Cork had denied using threatening and abusive words or behaviour, contrary to Section 6 of The Public Order Act. Mills had also denied assaulting another woman, contrary to Section 2 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.
Judge Waters said he had no doubt about the threatening and abusive behaviour by Mills and said he was also convicting her of assault and imposing fines totaling €900.
Mills’ solicitor Padraig O’Connell said she had fully contested the case and she did not accept the verdict of the court. She was a married woman with a young family and had never previously come to the notice of gardaí or since, and she was lodging an appeal.
Stephen McGeough, a 57-year-old part-time charity shop worker with an address at Devonshire Street, Cork, had also denied the use of threatening or insulting words provoking breach of the peace under the Public Order Act. He too was convicted and fined €400.
Mr Manley, his barrister, said his client was suffering ill health and had no previous convictions.
However Judge Waters said he had pleaded not guilty and he imposed the fine.
Victim impact statements were handed into the court and read by the judge.
The judge said all three had travelled from Cork with intent, and arrived at the library in Tralee to confront an event for children.
There was a violent incident, Lahive was shouting "prostitute" and other words within hearing of the children, the children were videoed and had to be moved to get them away from the behaviour, and there was talk of children being groomed, the judge noted.
"There was only one risk," the judge said, and it was the behaviour of Lahive, Mills and McGeough that caused the children to get upset.
The judge also said he was certain what took place was "premeditated."
The court had previously heard how the event was organised by Kingdom Pride and all performers were garda vetted. The event was disrupted when the protestors "burst" into the room and began live streaming from the event, and allegations of grooming were levelled at the organisers by Lahive.
The court was told that a number of organisers, as well as a security man, were assaulted, and it was alleged that adult volunteers at the event were called prostitutes, "absolute creatures" and other names.
Children were taken to a corner of the room and organisers used umbrellas to shield them from the proceeding and from being videoed, the court had heard.
