Reporter Paddy O’Gorman was in studio on the Today with Sean O’Rourke programme this morning to talk about his time interviewing defendants outside Galway District Court.
There were quite a few cases on the book for Judge Mary Fahy to preside over. One man was visiting Ireland from the US when he called Gardaí claiming he had been threatened by passersby. He was arrested for possessing two knives following a Garda search.
According to Paddy, Judge Mary Fahy questioned why the man had the knives. Paddy said that the defendant responded by quoting the 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution and claimed that the knife was recommended by celebrity adventurer, Bear Grylls. The judge was unmoved. The man received a sentence of 5 months, suspended on the condition that he leave Ireland within 7 days. He described the sequence of events to Paddy:
“I was in custody for the rest of that night, til the Sunday…They sent me to Castlerea [prison], which was horrible. It was terrible. I’m on holiday and I’m being sent to an Irish prison…You don’t sign up to go on holiday and see that side of a country, you know what I mean?“
Paddy asked the man what he made of the verdict.
“Each sovereign nation can write their own laws. It’s [my] ignorance of this country’s laws. Obviously, I was misinformed and I apologise for that…I’m going to go online, look for the best flights to depart and yeah, I think I would return. But not for a while.”
Listen back to the whole segment on Galway District Court on the Today with Sean O’Rourke programme here.