A Donegal man has been fined following recent public order incidents in Buncrana and Letterkenny.
Leo Marley was brought before Judge Ciaran Liddy at a special sitting of Letterkenny District Court on Saturday evening.
Sergeant Jim Collins gave evidence of the arrest, charge and caution of Marley by way of schedule.
The 34-year-old, of no fixed abode, was charged with an offence contrary to section 4 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act, 1994 as amended by section 22 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 2001, relating to an incident on June 21, 2025 at Cnoc Ard, Mountain Top, Letterkenny.
He was also charged over an incident at Main Street, Buncrana on June 19, 2025. Then, he was charged that he did use or engage in threatening, abusive or insulting worlds of behaviour with an intent to provoke a breach of the peace or being reckless as to whether a breach of the peace might have been occasioned.
The charge is contrary to section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act, 1994 as amended by section 22 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 2001.
Sergeant Collins said that a charge of failing to comply with direction from a member of An Garda Siochana could be struck out in light of pleas to the other charges.
In relation to the incident in Buncrana, Sergeant Collins said that while Marley might not have been intoxicated he was “in a bad way”. The court heard that Marley was being aggressive to other people and continued in that manner before being arrested.
On Saturday morning at 9.30am, Gardai responded to a report of an intoxicated male walking in the middle of the road with a crutch. Sergeant Collins outlined that Marley was a “hazard to traffic”, was highly intoxicated and as a danger to himself.
Mr Patsy Gallagher, solicitor for Marley, said that his client is in “dire straits” and in a “dishevelled state” after finding himself homeless.
Mr Gallagher told the court that Marley was badly injured on the leg while under a bridge in Buncrana and has been in excruciating pain. He said he has needed medical assistance and now “has accommodation sorted”.
He said his client, whose parents died while he was young, has had mental health difficulties and asked the court to be as lenient as possible.
Mr Gallagher said: “€100 or €200 is a lot to this man.”
Judge Liddy fined Marley €100 for the incident in Buncrana and marked the other charge as taken into consideration.
Legal aid was granted to Mr Gallagher.