Tralee court round-up: allegations of child cruelty, affray and assault
The KerrymanTralee District Court recently saw a mass adjournment of cases due to the ongoing dispute over legal aid reforms that has spurred Kerry solicitors to withdraw services in protest.
The district courts break for most criminal matters during August and, consequently, during July sittings hundreds of cases are adjourned to September and October.
Tralee District Court began and ended with in-camera domestic violence cases.
Judge Carol Anne Coolican began to run through the 27-page list of more than 450 cases, after the doors were opened to the public.
Solicitors still provided representation to prisoners.
Billy O’Donoghue (43) of Bibi’s Hostel, Tralee was arrested on July 14 and brought to Tralee Garda Station, where he was charged with affray on October 15, 2024 at Prince’s Street, Tralee. His solicitor, Pat Mann, applied for bail and gardaí objected to it.
Garda Shaun O’Sullivan testified that there was 10 minutes of CCTV footage. “All that was captured was clear,” he said.
Mr Mann noted, “I think when he’s of sober mind, he’s usually not a difficult person to deal with.”
“Co-operative,” said Gda O’Sullivan.
“That’s his nature, he’s co-operative,” said Mr Mann.
The judge granted bail and adjourned the case.
A Kerry resident was arrested at the courthouse on two charges of child cruelty, alleging he “did wilfully assault in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to the child’s health or to seriously affect her wellbeing” on a date between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2024.
He was further charged with the sexual assault of the same woman in the same period.
He was granted bail and his case adjourned until September 2.
A Cork resident was arrested that morning and charged with the sexual assault of a woman in Kerry between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020.
His case was adjourned to September 2 and he was granted bail on conditions stipulating he have no contact, direct or indirect, with the alleged injured party.
An elderly man was granted bail and released from custody after allegedly breaching a safety order issued in April 2025.
The court heard he had consented to the order, requested by his wife, who had left the family home to move with their adult child. She had been ‘in fear’, the court heard.
They had been married for more than five decades.
“He’s never been before the court in any guise apart from these family law proceedings,” noted his solicitor, Nuala Liston.
She presented a medical letter to the judge and noted he now attended Alcoholics Anonymous.
“When he’s sober, he’s the nicest person in the world,” she said.
The judge granted it but warned, “If there is an alleged breach, you’ll be back before the court and you will be going to prison.”
The case was adjourned to September 9 for a probation services report.
When the case was finished, he shook the hands of gardaí and approached the press bench and asked reporters, in a soft-spoken voice, that they not print his name.
By law, his name cannot be identified to protect the identity of the complainant.