TD Aengus O Snodaigh's son avoids jail over 'appalling' drunken incident in which he spat at Garda

It happened at Ballymun garda station in north Dublin on February 28 last year.

The common assault offence can result in a conviction with a six-month sentence and a fine.

The Trinity College Dublin student, of Naas Road, Dublin 8, also admitted obstructing Garda Carolan and using threatening, abusive and insulting words or behaviour during the drink-fuelled incident.

He had instructed his barrister defence barrister Emer Ni Chuagain to apologise on his behalf.

He had also agreed to take part in a restorative justice programme through the Probation Service and to donate €500 to charity.

Judge Paula Murphy was furnished with the restorative justice report today and noted it was “all positive” and that O Snodaigh had given the money to charity. It was also confirmed the student had not come to further attention.

She struck out the case sparing him a conviction and a sentence.

The student, who was accompanied to court by his fiancee, did not address the court.

His politician father had come to court on a previous date to support him when he entered the guilty plea.

At that hearing, Garda Sergeant Damian Beakey told Judge Ann Ryan, then presiding, that the accused entered the station with a taxi driver because of a dispute about a fare.

He was “extremely intoxicated and aggressive to gardaí from the start,” Garda Sergeant Beakey had said.

Gardaí tried to calm him down but O Snodaigh “squared up” to one of the officers in a threatening manner.

Garda Sergeant Beakey said he “heavily resisted”.

He was restrained and arrested and brought to the custody foyer but refused to give his details to the station’s jailer. He remained uncooperative, the court heard.

He was immediately brought to a cell where his aggressiveness continued and he refused to take off his belt and refused to allow himself be searched.

And at this stage he spat out at Garda Niall Carolan.

The court heard he was then searched and charged before he was released into the custody of his father.

O Snodaigh had no prior convictions.

Garda Sergeant Beakey agreed with the defence barrister it was unlikely he would come to Garda attention again.

O Snodaigh had offered to give €500 to the charity Feileacain (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Association of Ireland), which was nominated by the prosecuting Garda.

Testimonials and reports were furnished to the court which heard he had engaged in voluntary charity work.

Counsel said the testimonials spoke of the type of man he was and this was “out of character”.

He had also been struggling with a prior difficult incident and had attended counselling. The barrister said O Snodaigh had told her he had not consumed alcohol in that manner before.

Pleading for leniency, she said he was unlikely to come before the courts again and wanted to travel to the United States on a graduate visa after he finished his master’s degree.

He had taken an “unusual level of alcohol” and never wanted to put himself in that situation again, the barrister said, pleading for leniency.

In relation to addressing his alcohol use, counsel said O Snodaigh dealt with it himself; normally he would not drink that much and he now drank small amounts.

Judge Ryan had said the incident was triggered by the amount of alcohol he had taken, and he had a good future ahead of him.

“But the incident itself was appalling and your behaviour was completely and utterly unacceptable,” she had told O Snodaigh.

Garda Carolan did not wish to give a victim impact statement.

Judge Ryan had said the restorative justice programme, which is aimed at first-time offenders, would give him time to reflect on his behaviour and it was especially beneficial for cases like this.