A man who was convicted of assaulting a traffic warden in the District Court had his five month suspended sentence reaffirmed following an appeal at the Circuit Court recently.
At a sitting of Dungarvan District Court in November 2025, Brendan Morrissey (61) of Ballinamult, Via Clonmel, Waterford, was convicted of assault, contrary to Section 2 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, which related to an incident involving the accused and a traffic warden at Grattan Square, Dungarvan, on 21 June, 2024.
The accused appeared before Judge Mary Morrissey at Dungarvan Circuit Criminal Court recently to appeal the severity of his conviction.
It was previously heard in court that on the day of the incident, the accused was involved in a verbal altercation with the traffic warden, which involved physical contact, that subsequently led to the assault charge. The accused received a five month prison sentence suspended for 18 months from Judge John O’Leary at the original District Court sitting, who highlighted that the attack was ‘unacceptable’ and was essentially an ‘attack’ on the Waterford public, as the traffic warden is a member of Waterford City and County Council, whose representatives are publicly elected.
Following the accused’s original court appearance, a spokesperson for Waterford Council told The Munster Express: “Waterford City and County Council does not comment on individual cases, however as an employer the Council must provide and maintain a safe workplace for all its employees welcomes the verdict in this case.”
At last month’s appeal hearing at Dungarvan Circuit Court, a letter of apology from the accused was presented to the court for the traffic warden, along with a payment of €1,000 in compensation. The Judge directed for the money to be given to the traffic warden.
Judge Morrissey said that the traffic warden was ‘magnanimous’ for accepting the apology from the accused, and highlighted the seriousness of the offence, which involved a public official being assaulted while going about their duty.
The Judge then reaffirmed the original five month jail term, suspended for 18 months, and warned the accused that if he comes to any further Garda attention within the 18 month period, he may end up serving the five month sentence, adding that the accused has ‘the keys to his jail cell’.
Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme
Robyn Power
