Longford woman in court over ‘pulling the hair off" her sister-in -law during ‘silly disagreement’

A mother of four who had “an entirely silly disagreement” with her sister-in-law on Longford Town’s Main Street on the morning of December 17 last year which resulted in them “pulling each other’s hair and trying to punch one another” has expressed her deep shame over the incident, a recent sitting of Longford District Court was told. 

31 year old Julie Stokes of 61 Springlawn, Longford, appeared before the court charged with having used and/or engaged in threatening, abusive, and/or insulting words and/or behaviour towards a woman identified in court as her sister-in-law. 

Further Reading: Man accused of stealing €430 worth of Easter eggs from Longford supermarket 

Sergeant Mark Mahon told the court that Sgt Caroline Keogh had been on beat patrol in the town when she was alerted to a row taking place nearby. He said the sergeant witnessed the defendant and her sister-in-law “pulling the hair off one another and trying to punch each other”.  

Sgt Keogh “with the assistance of others” arrested the defendant. The court was told that Ms Stokes had eleven previous convictions, eight of which were for theft offences, while the remainder were road traffic related.  

Solicitor Diarmuid Quinn said that his client “isn’t known to the Gardaí to be violent in nature” and added that she’d “had a disagreement with her sister-in-law which unfortunately took place in public early in the day.” 

He continued, “They have since made up. It was just an entirely silly disagreement, and should never have happened. She is deeply ashamed by the whole thing really, and the fact that it has ended up in court. There’s certainly no ill will between the parties as a result of it; it was a mistake.” 

Mr Quinn added, “I’d ask the court to take into account the early plea (of guilty). Her previous convictions are a few years ago at this stage and none directly relevant to this. She has also brought with her the sum of €100.” 

“Bit light, Mr Quinn,” replied Judge Owens.  

“I thought so too,” Mr Quinn agreed. “I did ask her to bring more but circumstances being what they are, that’s all she had at the moment.”  

Further Reading: Student Garda who carried out placement in Longford graduates from Templemore   

In noting the facts of the case and the plea of guilty, Judge Owens said that while the defendant had previous convictions, none were for public order offences. She ordered Ms Stokes to pay €250 to Longford Community Resources and gave her until April 21 to put the funds together.

If that’s paid, the Judge said, Section 1 of the Probation Act would be applied meaning Ms Stokes would not have a conviction on her record. If Ms Stokes fails to pay the donation, Judge Owens warned, then she will be convicted and fined €200 with six months to pay.