A leading anti-water charges campaigner has been convicted of engaging in threatening behaviour after a judge was told that he was aggressive towards an Irish Water employee who was five and a half months pregnant at the time.
Brian O’Boyle (37) a college lecturer with an address at The Laurels, Woodtown Lodge, Sligo – and who is a member of People Before Profit (PBP) – told Judge Kevin Kilraine that he was making a political point at the time and was being assertive but not aggressive.
After the hearing, Mr O’Boyle, who was fined €300, said he would be appealing the conviction.
He told Sligo District Court that had he known the complainant, Pearl Duffy, was pregnant he probably would not have engaged with her. Mr O’Boyle, who is expected to run as a general election candidate, disputed Ms Duffy’s assertion that he described her as “scum”, saying he would never use such a term.
Judge Kilraine said he was satisfied he had shouted at “this little lady who was five and a half months pregnant” and said making a political point in that fashion was scraping the bottom of the barrel. The judge said he believed the defendant had used the word “scum”.
Ms Duffy told the court she had been delivering leaflets in The Laurels on June 20th last when she heard someone shouting at her that Irish Water was not welcome in the estate. The accused was “quite aggressive” and “I was scared for me and for my baby”.
She said she was crying and rang her employers who sent someone to collect her. She quit her job that same day.
Gerard McGovern, solicitor for the accused, said Ms Duffy had claimed that his client had sped off in his car leaving “a puff of smoke behind”, but an independent witness said she had left the estate first .
Ms Duffy insisted that, even though she was wearing a high visibility Irish Water vest, that it was obvious she was pregnant.
Ms Duffy said the accused had crossed the street towards her and “that’s what frightened me the most”.
Witness Lucia Conlon said she was in an upstairs room in her home with the window open when she heard a man saying “excuse me you are not welcome here”.
She did not know the man, but knew it was a neighbour and she heard him saying something to a woman about families struggling to survive. The woman replied that she hoped the man was happy shouting at a pregnant woman. Witness said she had not noticed this woman was pregnant. The accused was “firm but not aggressive”, she added.
The accused said he had said “excuse me” when he spoke to the woman. He told her he hoped she was happy to be earning wages when ordinary families were being driven into poverty. He was shocked when she said she was pregnant as he certainly did not mean to be abusive towards a pregnant woman.
At the same court, a charge of assault against Sligo county councillor Séamus O’Boyle (PBP) , arising out of a separate incident, was dismissed after the judge heard that the injured party had not shown up in court. Mr O’Boyle (57) of St John’s Terrace, Sligo was charged with assaulting Frank McHale on July 29th last year at Courthouse Drive Grange, Co Sligo during a protest against the installation of water meters.
Judge Kilraine commented that “people can draw their own conclusions” after hearing that the injured party had not turned up for court and had his phone switched off.