Judge tells man to climb Croagh Patrick as punishment for insulting Garda

A District judge has told a Rathmullan man who used foul language to a member of the Garda that he has a month to travel to Co Mayo and make the pilgrimage to the top of Croagh Patrick.
At Milford District Court in Letterkenny this week Judge Séamus Hughes told 38-year-old Joseph McElwee  he was to do the four stations of the famous Mayo pilgrimage as a mark of respect for his fellow Irish people, especially those in the line of duty.
Garda Nicholas Freyne told the court that while they were on duty in Rathmullan, they saw a large crowd gathered outside a public house and three individuals approached them and started verbally abusing them.
The court heard that the defendant told Garda Freyne to “f – off home to Mayo” continuing his abuse for 10 minutes according to the garda’s evidence.
The judge asked the defendant whether he had ever been to his native Co Mayo and climbed Croagh Patrick.
Mr O’Gorman asked the judge how his client would be able to prove that he climbed Croagh Patrick, to which Judge Hughes replied that he will have questions prepared