Former world boxing champion Dave "Boy" McAuley was fined €600 at Letterkenny District Court yesterday when he admitted passing counterfeit notes in a bar in the Co Donegal town during a stag night last month.
McAuley (43), a father of two, of The Woods, Old Glenarm Road Larne, Co Antrim, admitted passing two Northern Ireland £20 notes at Bar Mono, Lower Main Street, Letterkenny on May 30th.
Garda Gerry Davenport told Judge John O'Donnell: "It was noted by the barman that McAuley ordered a round of drinks and used a Northern Ireland £20 to pay for the drink. He got €15 in change. Almost immediately after he put in an order for a second round and he paid for this with another £20 note. The barman became suspicious and he checked both notes in the till and they were found to be counterfeit. He was then spoken to by the barman and by a bouncer and the bouncer called the gardaí."
The witness said he searched McAuley and found on him three other similar counterfeit notes as well as £300 sterling and €50 which were genuine.
Defence solicitor Ms Ailish Moran said McAuley, who had no previous convictions, came to Letterkenny for a stag night and did not know where the counterfeit notes had come from.
"He is someone who is in the public eye. He was a boxer and he is deeply embarrassed at this incident," she said.
McAuley said: "Because I don't drink a lot, when I arrived in Letterkenny I was half shot at that stage," he said. "I just don't know where I got the counterfeit money from. I had about five hundred pounds on me. I am not the kind of person who comes to Letterkenny to get rid of £40. I do not have a good recollection of the night because I was very drunk."
McAuley's court appearance came 15 years after he won the IBF flyweight world title after beating Duke McKenzie on points on June 19th, 1989. He went on to become the only British or Irish boxer to defend a world boxing title five times. He lost the title to Colombian boxer Rodolfo Blanco in 1992 and in the same year he was awarded an MBE.