Judge Brian Curtin of the Circuit Court has been disqualified from driving for two years and fined €250 for drunk driving.
Judge Curtin , (51) of 24 Ard na Laoi, Tralee, also had his licence endorsed after pleading guilty at Tralee District Court today to driving with excess alcohol. He was almost three times over the legal alcohol limit when he was stopped by gardaí at Cloonalour, Tralee on May 8th last.
A second charge of refusing to give a breath sample was withdrawn by the State.
Judge Curtin did not attend the hearing his solicitor, Mr Robert Pierse said his client "wished to apologise to the court and to the bench generally".
Five medical reports wre handed in to Judge Terence Finn including one from Consultant Cardiologist at the Mater Hospital, Dr Edward Keelan dated May 22nd 2002.
Mr Pierse said the report - which advised that Judge Curtin should stay off alcohol - dated from "five days before an event of which everybody in this court is aware in which gardaí illegally went into my client's home and seized certain material".
Mr Pierse said Judge Curtin had been acquitted after a three-day trial on charges of possessing child pornography and but the acquittal had been largely ignored, particularly by sections of the press.
He also pointed to another medical report from Dr James O'Regan dated May 12 th2004 which said Judge Curtin had sought admission to hospital on May 7 thsuffering from stress, depression and anxiety.
Mr Pierse said the following day a "particularly vicious number of articles appeared in the papers including one in The Starnewspaper which somebody dropped in Judge Curtin's house and which upset him greatly.
The article featured a photograph of Judge Curtin on the day he sought admission to hospital which showed his condition and caused him great distress.
Media reports had led to Judge Curtin being vilified and subject to public hostility in the locality and he had moved house as a consequence, Mr Pierse said.
On the day of his arrest Judge Curtin had not eaten because of his distress and had gone to Tralee to get a meal. After parking his car he was abused by youths and instead of going for food, he went to a bar.
"Unfortunately, he drank, not too wisely but too well - it is quite clear that the man was dreadfully upset and under terrible pressure at the time - he had gone through two years of hell," said Mr Pierse.
It was unfortunate that Judge Curtin had not been admitted to hospital when he had sought admission, he added.
Judge Finn noted the guilty plea and Judge Curtin's co-operation with gardaí. He further noted that he had no previous convictions and accepted public and newspaper comment had affected him.