A man was charged with public order offences after urinating on the floor of Waterford Garda Station, the District Court heard.
John Dunphy (64) of 172A Larchville, Waterford, appeared before Judge John Cheatle in court at the end of May. He pleaded guilty to a charge of engaging in abusive behaviour in public, contrary to Section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994. A separate charge of being intoxicated in public, contrary to Section 4 of the same act, was withdrawn.
Sergeant John Phelan told the court that after 2.00am on 5 April 2026, the accused entered Waterford Garda Station in an ‘intoxicated’ state. He asked Gardaí for a lift back to his home and became ‘abusive’ when they refused. He then dropped his trousers and urinated on the floor of the station’s public office, which led to a clean up cost of around €200, Sgt Phelan said.
Acting for the defendant, solicitor Hilary Delahunty said his client was dropped off at the Garda station on the night after he spilled alcohol in a taxi. Mr Delahunty highlighted that the accused “had too much to drink” at the time, and was a “young man when he was last in trouble” as he has a previous conviction dating back to 26 years ago.
The solicitor asked Judge Cheatle if Section 1 (1) of the Probation Act could be applied in his client’s case, to which the judge replied: “He can’t go into the Garda station, do that, and get a slap on the wrist.”
Judge Cheatle ordered the accused to complete 40 hours of community service in lieu of a three month prison sentence.
Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme
Robyn Power
