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Apology over ‘boat rage' incident in Baltimore

August 7th, 2018 8:10 PM

By Southern Star Team

The children, at first, didn't want to go back to Baltimore.

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A boat rage incident in Baltimore resulted in a man from Blarney being charged with assault and criminal damage.

A BOAT rage incident in Baltimore resulted in a man from Blarney being charged with assault and criminal damage.

Insp Fergal Foley outlined the incident – which happened on a Sunday afternoon on July 30th 2017 – saying the injured party, Michael McGuire, was returning from a short trip around the harbour with his wife and his children when the accused Colm O’Sullivan of 10 Seanacloc, Blarney, shouted at him: ‘Slow down, you are going too fast, you fucking idiot.’

Despite being asked by his own daughter to calm down, the inspector said Colm O’Sullivan picked up a coffee and threw it over Michael McGuire and his family. 

The inspector said Mr McGuire went to put his RIB into reverse but the accused manoeuvred his boat and damaged the right-hand side of the RIB, knocking Mr McGuire’s son off his feet.

‘A man got between them and acted as a buffer,’ said the inspector, and, as they disembarked at the pontoon, Colm O’Sullivan’s daughter apologised for the incident, which was captured on CCTV.

Flor Murphy, solicitor, said his client has no previous convictions, but was willing to admit that he ‘flipped’ that day. He said he is now very sorry for what happened and wished to apologise profusely.

Judge Mary Dorgan noted that the accused’s behaviour had ‘a huge effect on the young family’, which included a nine-year old, a six-year old and a baby of two. She said the case – which involved the bigger boat ‘acting the maggot in the harbour’ – was of serious concern. The judge said the family holiday was destroyed and the RIB was not available to them because it had to be repaired. She also noted that the children, at first, didn’t want to go back to Baltimore, but that changed this year. ‘Even then, they were afraid of running into this gentleman’.

The case was adjourned to September 25th for a probation report.

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