TICKET TO HELL | 

Man who harassed parking warden for years over €40 ticket wants to keep conviction ‘low-key’

“I’m just lucky it hasn’t been noticed in work so far. If they read that in the paper I’ll be gone”

Alan Sherry

Today at 07:30

A man who harassed a traffic warden and his boss for six years over a €40 parking ticket says he is trying to keep his conviction “low-key” as he doesn’t want his workplace to find out.

Healthcare worker Rory O’Brien (47) of Kilnacranna, Carrigatoher, Nenagh, Co Tipperary, waged a bizarre campaign of harassment against parking warden Arthur Kelly on various dates between February 25, 2015 and July 27, 2021 in Nenagh Town Centre, all because Mr Kelly gave him a €40 ticket for parking in a loading bay.

Over that six-year period, O’Brien followed Mr Kelly around the town shouting horrific abuse at him on multiple occasions.

O’Brien ramped up the campaign of harassment on June 8, 2021 when he targeted Mr Kelly’s boss, Rosemary Joyce, following her and abusing her at the Tesco in the town.

He continued the harassment against Ms Joyce, who is the Nenagh Municipal District Administrator, up to July 2021.

O’Brien pleaded guilty to harassing the two victims when he appeared before Nenagh District Court on June 9.

Judge Elizabeth MacGrath sentenced O’Brien to six-months’ imprisonment for harassing Mr Kelly and four months in prison for harassing Ms Joyce, but suspended the sentences for two years and ordered O’Brien to stay away from the victims and their workplace.

Despite his guilty plea, O’Brien saw himself as the victim when the Sunday World called to his home this week.

“We just want to be left alone. We’ve been to court. We’re not going to get justice,” he said.

O’Brien said he is worried he will lose his job when his workplace finds out about his conviction.

“They do vetting at work twice a year. It was done the last few weeks and I escaped that [his conviction came after the vetting].