A homeless man was given a suspended jail term for trying to spend the night at the disused Morris Arms pub in Connonagh. Clonakilty District Court heard that Tomas Zielinski and another man were spotted at the back of the building in Connonagh on May 30th. 

Mr Zielinski (60) appeared in court on crutches, with a Polish interpreter translating the proceedings to him. 

Sgt Tom Mulcahy said: ‘Garda received a call from the owner of the Morris Arms who was distressed because there were two men trespassing on his property. He was afraid they were doing damage because squatters had caused a fire at the same location two nights before.’

Sgt Mulcahy said the owner had requested that Zielinski and the other man leave the property, to which they had replied they would leave the following morning. 

Sgt Mulcahy added: ‘When a few of the locals arrived, the men packed up their belongings and left. Garda Noonan spoke to both men and arrested them for trespassing.’

The court heard that Tomas Zielinski had five previous convictions, four relating to public order offences and one for failing to appear in court.  

Solicitor Flor Murphy said his client was 60 years old, originally from Poland and had been living in Ireland for the past 12 years.

He said: ‘He was working up until four years ago. His convictions started after that. He has an ongoing issue with his legs and hips.’

Mr Murphy added that Mr Zielinski had an alcohol problem and slept some nights on the streets, other nights at a Simon Community shelter.

Judge Joanne Carroll gave him a three-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months on condition that he cooperates with the probation service and gets alcohol addiction treatment. 

(Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme)