Judge warns Longford man who ‘could not get off island’ to appear in court that ‘he will be jailed’

A judge has warned a Longford man who failed to appear in court for over a year to face public order charges, despite being served with 12 bench warrants, he will be jailed.

Robbie Delaney (35) 3 Cuirt An Oir, Killashee Street, Longford pleaded guilty at Longford Circuit Court to a number of charges relating to an incident in Longford town on May 19, 2022.

The Longford man, who has a string of previous theft convictions to his name, was arrested and charged with section 4 and 6 public order as well as allegedly stealing a mobile phone worth €200 from a man in the Fee Court area of town along with €50 in cash.

Mr Delaney was further charged with impeding gardaí John Fitzmaurice and Glenn Horan and the theft of a set of handcuffs.
The defendant appeared before Judge Keenan Johnson last year on the charges.

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Mr Delaney was directed to engage with the probation services and received some positive comments on the efforts he had made to turn his life around.

However, the defendant was supposed to attend Longford Circuit Court on December 20, 2024 and he failed to appear.

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Garda Colm Satchwell gave evidence where he stated that there were 12 bench warrants issued for Mr Delaney in 2024 alone.
The defendant had 39 previous convictions.

Mr Delaney said he had been away for a short break in the Dungloe area of county Donegal when he claimed he ran into difficulties.

"The reason I didn't attend court was because we were in the B&B and we were all of a sudden shipped from there over to the Arranmore Islands where I could not get off the island to get back over to the mainland and get down here to get to my court case," he added.

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Counsel for the defendant, Kieran Collins BL, asked Mr Delaney why there had been so many bench warrants issued for him and he replied that a person close to him had been ill and he was unable to attend.

"I apologise to the guards about what happened that day," he said. " I know it won't happen again."

Judge Kenneth Connolly noted that in October 2023 Delaney had been directed to engage with the probation services by Judge Johnson during his sentencing hearing.

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However, the defendant failed to meet with probation officers for appointments on November 27 last, December 4, December 11 and December 21, 2024.

Judge Connolly said he had made no effort to engage with probation services and he remanded him in custody until January 30, 2025.

"He is getting a custodial sentence," he added.