Street Row | 

Council worker who struggled ‘violently’ with gardaí pleads guilty in court

Adjourning the case, Judge John Hughes said he would consider leaving the accused without a criminal record if he made a charity donation.

Today at 07:17

A council worker barged through gardaí and violently struggled with them when his “blood was up” during a street row.

Father-of-two Dylan Behan (28) “lost his cool” and ran at the officers who came to deal with the earlier incident on a street near his home.

Adjourning the case, Judge John Hughes said he would consider leaving the accused without a criminal record if he made a charity donation.

Behan, of Decies Road, Ballyfermot, pleaded guilty to obstructing gardaí, failing to comply with their directions and using threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour.

Dublin District Court heard gardaí were called to an incident at Decies Road on August 2, 2021.

Behan began screaming at the gardaí to “f**k off”, saying it “had nothing to do with them,” the court heard.

He ran from the gardaí and tried to barge through two of them before putting up a violent struggle and wrestling himself away.

Gardaí searched for him with the help of the air support unit but were unsuccessful and he was located and arrested the next day.

Behan had no previous convictions. He was very apologetic and remorseful for his behaviour on the night, his lawyer said.

At the time, he had an argument with someone and had “too much alcohol on board”.

His lawyer asked the judge to spare Behan convictions, as a criminal record could have an impact on his job. The accused was employed by a local authority and had a good work history, the court heard.

Judge Hughes said the “blood was up” and the accused lost his cool.

“Roaring and shouting and cursing at the gardaí is one thing,” the judge said, but running at them and ending up in a struggle was more serious.