‘I’ll box the head off the two of you’ - Man fined €500 over St Patrick’s Day incident in Wicklow
The Wicklow PeopleA 24-year-old man appeared before Bray District Court this week after an incident on St Patrick’s Day in which he was found heavily intoxicated and behaving aggressively outside a house in County Wicklow.
Paddy McDonagh (24), of Bachelors Walk, Co Wicklow, appeared at Bray District Court charged with engaging in threatening or abusive behaviour and being intoxicated in public to the point of posing a danger to himself or others. The charges relate to an incident at a property in Bray on St Patrick’s Day this year.
A garda from Bray Garda Station testified that on March 17, 2025, at approximately 11:40pm, gardaí responded to reports of a disturbance at a residence in Bray. Upon arrival, they encountered Mr McDonagh outside the property, where he appeared to be highly intoxicated.
According to the garda, when officers attempted to speak with Mr McDonagh, he became threatening and verbally aggressive, shouting, “f**k you,” and “I will box the head off the two of you”. The court heard that as he attempted to place Mr McDonagh under arrest, the situation escalated, and he became physically confrontational, forcing the garda to deploy OC spray to restrain him.
The court was informed that Mr McDonagh has no previous convictions.
Taking the stand, Mr McDonagh said he had attended the St Patrick’s Day parade earlier in the day and had gone to the Bray property “to have a few drinks”. He claimed that gardaí had previously been called to the house due to a disturbance involving a relative of the homeowner.
Mr McDonagh testified that when the garda arrived, he went outside to “figure out the situation” but alleged that gardaí “threw him around” and “were kicking him with their steel-toe boots”. He further claimed that gardaí did not inform him why they were there or why he was being arrested.
When questioned about his level of intoxication, Mr McDonagh stated he had consumed four bottles of Bulmers cider. Asked if he was drunk, he responded: “I only get drunk when I drink spirits.”
Mr McDonagh’s solicitor asked the court for leniency, noting that his client works in construction, but is currently out of employment due to an injury. He added that Mr McDonagh intends to return to work as soon as possible.
Judge David Kennedy fined Mr McDonagh €500 on count one, giving him five months to pay. Count two was taken into consideration.