A Donegal man who assaulted a Garda sergeant and a prison officer INSIDE a courtroom has been jailed.
Glen Friel was given a six-month prison sentence when he appeared before Judge Ciaran Liddy at Falcarragh District Court.
Friel was charged over an incident on March 14, 2024 at Letterkenny courthouse.
He was charged with assaulting both a prison officer and a Garda sergeant, charges that are contrary to section 2 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997.
The 25-year-old, who is serving a prison sentence for an arson attack on his sister’s rented house in Killybegs, appeared from Castlerea Prison, where he is in custody, via video link.
Friel, last of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to two counts of assault.
Sergeant Jim Collins outlined the details of the incident to the court.
Sergeant Collins said that Friel was in the court when an altercation took place after the accused man had been sentenced.
The court was informed that during the fracas, Friel head butted and spat on a prison officer before kicking out and hitting a Garda sergeant who was also present.
Friel was being taken from the court and was struggling with those escorting him.
Then, Friel was sentenced to five years in prison, with the final two years suspended by Judge John Aylmer for an arson attack on a house at Straleeny, Killybegs in April 2020, causing €79,450 worth of damage to the property.
Sergeant Collins told the court that Friel was “kicking and flailing” after the sentence was passed down.
The court heard that Friel has a number of previous convictions, which Sergeant Collins said related to his “vulnerabilities and substance misuse”, and was due for release from prison in March, 2026.
Solicitor for Friel, Mr Rory O’Brien, said his client is a “man with significant difficulties”.
“This behaviour is grotesque and he fully accepts that,” Mr O’Brien said. “The context has to be slightly outlined. There is no excuse and we aren’t making one. Mr Friel has been in custody for a significant period of time and he was in difficulty and was homeless, sleeping under bridges, for a while with very little structure in his life.”
Mr O’Brien said that Friel appeared before the Circuit Court to be sentenced having come off the effects of alcoholism and synthetic drugs. He said Friel failed to deal with the sentence when it was passed and he has “little to no recollection” of the incident.
He said Friel is usually a “quiet and reserved gentleman who has a number of difficulties”.
The solicitor told the court that time in prison has been a benefit for Friel as his previously “wild lifestyle” brought further trouble, but he has since reintroduced medications and remains stable. He has engaged in education while in prison and was “a man crying out for help”.
Asked by Mr O’Brien if he had anything to say on the matter, Friel said: “I’m sorry”. In relation to the men he assaulted Friel added: “I’d like to say I’m sorry and it won’t happen again”.
Mr O’Brien said that the incident was not something his client was proud of.
Judge Liddy said that he was required to mark the sentence consecutively.
Judge Liddy said he was noting the accused man’s guilty plea and the apology offered,
For the assault on the prison officer, Friel was sentenced to four months in prison. Friel was handed a two-month sentence for the assault on the Garda sergeant.
“These are people who we rely on to keep our communities safe,” Judge Liddy said. “To assault such officers must be marked by a custodial sentence.”