A Dublin man who was “highly intoxicated” and arrested for his own safety while out in Waterford over Christmas was recently ordered to make a court poor box donation.
Niall Connolly (43) of 15 Woodlawn Park Avenue, Firhouse, Dublin 24, appeared before Judge John Cheatle at a recent sitting of Waterford District Court, and pleaded guilty to a charge of being intoxicated in public, contrary to Section 4 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994, relating to an incident that occurred on 19 December 2025.
The court heard that on that night, Gardaí were called to The Tap Room pub in Ballybricken, Waterford city, after the accused was reported to be blocking the entrance to customers. He was later arrested for his own safety after they found him to be “highly intoxicated” with a strong smell of alcohol coming from him. It is understood that the accused has six previous convictions that are all related to road traffic offences.
Addressing the accused, Judge Cheatle said: “Is there anything you want to say?” He asked him if he would like to make a donation to the court poor box in order to avoid a conviction, to which the accused responded positively.
Judge Cheatle put the matter back to 3 March 2026, and invited the accused to make a €100 donation to the court poor box. The Judge indicated that if this is completed before then, the matter would be struck out.
Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme
Robyn Power
