A High Court judge has found that a Co Galway woman in her 60s should not have been convicted and jailed by a District Court judge for 15 months last October for public order and assault offences.
Mr Justice McKechnie said the woman was gravely mentally ill at the time and failed to receive a trial in due course of law.
The judge said there was sufficient material before District Judge John Garavan to have raised a sufficient doubt in that judge's mind whether the woman was mentally capable of understanding the legal proceedings.
That material included the woman's own behaviour at the time of the offences and her "extraordinary" behaviour in court.
During a number of legal proceedings, she had made a 15-minute speech about drug-dealers, accused a garda of having sexual intercourse with her, verbally abused witnesses and the judge, cursed people in court and constantly interrupted the proceedings.
In a reserved judgment yesterday Mr Justice McKechnie quashed convictions imposed on her in May and October 2001.
The convictions related to a number of public order offences and one of assault.
The latter referred to an allegation that the woman slapped a youth around the head and berated him.
In May 2001 Judge Garavan bound the woman to the peace and fined her £200 after convicting her of public order offences arising from an incident at Eyre Square, Galway.
In October 2001 the same judge imposed a 15-month sentence on the woman after convicting her of three public order offences and one count of assault, also arising from the Eyre Square incident.