A notorious criminal who went on a crime spree in Donegal has sparked fury amongst other prisoners at Castlerea Prison by singing ‘God Save The Queen.’
Gary Brodie has been in prison after being extradited from Scotland to
face a string of charges committed in Donegal in 2007 and 2008.
He fled here while out on bail claiming the IRA were trying to kill him.
Brodie, aged 33, claims his father, who disappeared 23 years ago, was murdered by the IRA.
Brodie, who has many relations in Donegal, was hauled back to Ireland on a European arrest warrant in September and has been in Castlerea Prison since.
However, Brodie, a huge Glasgow Rangers fan, has outraged other prisoners with his singing and taunts.
A source said “He is driving some of the other prisoners nuts. He
keeps singing God Save The Queen and other songs.
“He is winding them all up and some of them are getting really annoyed by it.”
He even asked prison officials if he could wear a Rangers top if he
was sent one.
But Brazen Brodie’s boasts may now have backfired on him after he was
jailed for three years at Letterkenny Circuit Court this week.
He was caged by Judge John Aylmer on a number of charges including
robbery, criminal damage and assault.
One of the charges involved Brodie attacking another man in a
Letterkenny Nightclub when he smashed the bottle over his head and
then stabbed him with it.
On another occasion Brodie and two other men attacked a man whom they
had just met in the Ramada Hotel in Letterkenny.
The man had mentioned it had recently come into some money and Brodie
and the others jumped on him, robbed him of jewelry and more than
£2,000 in sterling and assaulted him.
None of Brodie’s victims who were invited to come to court appeared to
make victim impact statements.
Former cocaine addict Brodie had to be surrounded by four prison
officers who escorted him from Castlerea Prison after he spat at a
detective who had given evidence against him.
His barrister Peter Nolan said his client was a “stranger in a strange
land’ because of his religious background, the fact that he was not
Irish and he supported a different football team.
He said his client wanted to be close to his family back in Scotland
and would like to serve out his prison by seeking to get extradited
back to Scotland.
Judge Aylmer sentenced him to a total of three years in prison but
backdated it to June when Brodie was taken into custody in Scotland.
