A barrister who used a sword to defend himself during a row with a motorist was fined £500 yesterday for assault.
Senior counsel James Gilhooly had denied assaulting barber Shane Byrne by poking him with his finger and also pleaded not guilty to unlawful possession of a fencing sabre.
Dublin District Court heard how he held Mr Byrne at bay by waving the sword "like something out of Zorro" at Main Street, Malahide, Co Dublin, in August 1999.
Judge Mary Collins ruled the State had discharged its obligations in relation to the burden of proof and convicted Mr Gilhooly. She fined him £500 on the charge of assault and took the charge of unlawful possession of the sword into account.
She also fixed recognisances for leave to appeal after Mr Gilhooly's lawyer said that while he accepted the findings of the court, he did not accept he was guilty. Afterwards Mr Gilhooly declined to comment as he would be appealing.
The court heard the incident began when Mr Byrne and his wife arrived back to their parked car to find the bumper hanging off.
Mr Gilhooly was putting dry cleaning into his car, which was parked beside the Byrne vehicle, and Mr Byrne asked him did he see anybody hit their car.
Mr Byrne claimed Mr Gilhooly became angry and accused the barber of trying to defraud his insurance company over old damage to the car.
He claimed Mr Gilhooly twice poked him in the eye with his finger and held the sword to the lower part of his face.
Mr Gilhooly claimed Mr Byrne was the aggressor and persisted in saying that he (the barrister) had damaged the car.
He decided to open the boot of his car and take out the fencing sabre to defend himself. He believed Mr Byrne was about to head-butt or punch him.
Judge Collins set recognisances for an appeal in Mr Gilhooly's own bond of £500.