COURT CASE 

Monkeypox prison concerns cause delay in sending Cork couple to jail but ‘court order cannot be ignored’, judge says

• 20:13, 16 Sep 2022
• Updated: 20:13, 16 Sep 2022

A PRISON governor told a judge today he had concerns about admitting two prisoners to prison because they had claimed when arrested that they had monkeypox.

When Gardai attempted to arrest Paula Canty on Wednesday in Riverstick, Co Cork after she travelled to Kinsale with her partner on the bus from Cork  and was on the return journey back to the city, she told officers she had the virus and that they and their families would also get it, the court heard.

It took four Gardai wearing gloves to arrest her as she violently resisted.

She attempted to bite a Garda’s finger during the incident.

They succeeded in subduing her and eventually managed to place her in a cell.

Gardai were called by the bus driver over an alleged disturbance on board but the couple had disembarked before officers boarded the vehicle.

They then received reports of a man and a woman attempting to flag down cars on the road.

Canty of St Eltin Terrace, Kinsale has 130 previous convictions.

She was convicted on Thursday of a public order offence and with obstructing Gardai.

She was given a total of six months in prison.