A SKIBBEREEN man has been given the benefit of the Probation Act on a charge of being verbally abusive to a Traveller liaison officer working with Cork County Council.
At Skibbereen District Court on Tuesday, Damien Long (41) of Marsh Road, Skibbereen, denied committing the Public Order offence on a site adjacent to his home on September 9th 2022.
Tina Sheehan, the Traveller liaison officer, said she met an engineer and a builder on the site to discuss possible repairs to two caravans, one of which was unoccupied due to a bereavement.
In cross-examination by the accused’s barrister Paula McCarthy, instructed by solicitor Flor Murphy, the witness admitted that members of the Travelling community had expressed concerns that ‘a young fella from Clonakilty’ was going to be allocated accommodation on the O’Driscoll site.
It was Damien Long’s contention that he only went into the site after hearing the disturbance and abuse being hurled by a member of the Traveller community at Tina Sheehan.
Tina Sheehan denied that members of the Travelling community were angry. She said they were having a discussion.
‘They were worried,’ she said. ‘It would be most unusual to put another family from another Travelling family on the same site.’
Damien Long said he spoke to one of the Traveller women and then approached Tina Sheehan and offered to show her a written agreement with the former Urban District Council. He said the document states that the site would be used to accommodate ‘Tommy and Johnny’ and no one else.
For GDPR reasons, Tina Sheehan said she could not discuss allocations with Damien Long and he became aggressive towards her.
‘He was just shouting at me. He kept saying there was paperwork and he was asking me for my name and title.’
The accused denied this, saying Tina Sheehan kept talking over him and wouldn’t listen to what he was trying to tell her. He said he went into his mother’s house to find the document but returned a short time later.
At that stage, Tina Sheehan said he threatened the builder. But Damien Long refuted this, saying he told them he would put a bus across the gate to prevent access until the issue was resolved.
Tina Sheehan said Damien Long photographed the registration numbers of the vehi- cles on the roadside and this made her fear for her safety.
She said she also felt intimidated after the accused trespassed on her personal space and tried to photograph her name badge.
The accused said he and his wife were considering making a complaint about the liaison officer to both the gardaí and the local authority and that was why he asked for permission to photograph her ID.
When she refused, he said, he did not take the photograph.
Tim O’Farrell, an engineer, described the accused as being ‘visibly cross’ and told the liaison officer ‘only Tommy and Johnny were allowed on the site.’
The engineer said Mr Long also stated he would obstruct any accommodation works the Council would carry out.
As Mr Long walked away, Tina Sheehan said he called back to her saying: ‘There are no more knackers going into that site.’
Giving evidence, Mr Long strongly refuted this, saying he has lived alongside the O’Driscolls for 41 years and they have a good relationship.
He said he has never used that word, nor would he tolerate its usage in his presence. Ken O’Mahony, who works with Damien Long, gave evidence about the earlier ‘altercation’ and said there was nothing aggressive or intimidating about Mr Long’s behaviour. After considering the evidence, Judge Paul Kelly held that taking photographs is only done ‘as an intimidatory tactic.’
He said Tina Sheehan’s evidence was ‘plausible’ and found the facts proven. The judge noted the ac- cused has no previous convictions and gave him the benefit of the Probation Act, provided he make a €1,500 donation to the West Cork Traveller Association.
