A Buncrana father-of-four, who took part in a violent brawl between feuding families at an Inishowen cemetery last Christmas, has narrowly avoided a prison sentence.
Delivery driver Thomas Mongan, of 9 Pairc na hAluine, Buncrana, admitted a Section 6 charge of engaging in threatening and abusive behaviour when he appeared before Buncrana District Court.
The 28-year-old defendant was sentenced to two months in prison, suspended for 24 months.
The court heard how Mr Mongan had been fighting another man and had to be pepper-sprayed and handcuffed when gardaí swooped on Burt graveyard to break up the fracas.
Garda Sergeant Emmet Brady gave a summary of the evidence against the accused, who has a series of previous convictions.
He said gardaí received information in relation to an arranged fight between members of the Travelling community at Burt graveyard on Sunday, December 22, 2024.
They patrolled the area at approximately 4pm that afternoon and witnessed a number of members of the Travelling community, who appeared to be in an altercation.
Sgt Brady told the court that two males were grappling each other on the ground, “roaring and shouting” at each other.
Gardai intervened and gave verbal warnings for them to desist, before pepper spray was deployed. At 4.10pm the defendant Mr Mongan was arrested. Handcuffs were used and he was later charged at Buncrana Garda Station for an alleged offence under Section 6 of the Public Order Act.
The court heard how Mr Mongan has a number of previous convictions, including for assault causing harm, assault, robbery, theft and a series of public order offences, as well as a road traffic matter.
Solicitor Frank Murphy said his client had a “very turbulent upbringing” and that many of his offences date back to when he was younger.
“He has turned a corner. He’s now a father of four young children. He’s a married man and works as a local delivery driver. In fact, I often see him doing deliveries around Buncrana myself.
“He seems to have since turned a corner from what his pattern in life was like.”
Mr Murphy told the judge that his client was drawn into a violent dispute at the graveyard that he didn’t wish to be a part of.
“On this occasion, there was a family feud and I think Mr Mongan was brought to this location. He’s a grown man and he can make his own decisions, but it was a situation that he did not want to find himself in.
“It was a family feud that spilled over into the car-park at Burt graveyard. He no longer converses with any of the parties that had been involved in that matter. He has distanced himself from all family members who were involved.”
Mr Murphy said Mr Mongan wants to forge his own path in life.
“The numerous previous [convictions] are from an extremely turbulent time in his life. He had no children back then and he was a lost teenager or 20-year-old.”
“He seems to have gotten sense now, so to speak. The year 2022 was his last engagement with gardaí apart from this slight blip on the radar.”
Mr Murphy said his client won’t trouble the courts again.
“He realises it’s a serious matter and he regrets getting involved. He realises that if he comes before the court again he could face a long period of time in custody.”
Judge Patricia Cronin noted the early guilty plea, however she deemed it to be a very serious offence.
“This court considers this to be a serious Section 6 in circumstances where the location is at a graveyard and it is on 22 December at 4pm. They are aggravating factors.”
“People go to the graveyard around certain times of the year to visit their loved ones’ graves, and Christmas is one of those times. And for people to behave like that in a graveyard is appalling.
“It is beyond inappropriate. There are other people affected by your actions. I have to also take into account your previous convictions, a number of which are under the Public Order Act,” she told Mr Mongan.
Judge Cronin said she believed the facts of the case crossed the threshold for a custodial sentence, because of the location of the fight and because of the time of year when it occurred.
“I’m going to sentence you to two months imprisonment – but I will suspend that sentence for 24 months.”
In imposing a suspended sentence, the judge said she took into account the plea of mitigation and that Mr Mongan had distanced himself from others involved in the fight.
However, she warned the Buncrana man that he’ll be going to jail if he offends again.
“This was described as a slight blip, but I don’t consider it a slight blip,” she said. “I want to make it very clear to you Mr Mongan: If you come back to this court having been convicted of any other offence within two years of today’s date, then the sentence I imposed today will be activated.
“So there is a real risk that if you reoffend, you will serve this sentence,” the judge said.
Mr Mongan agreed to enter into a Section 99 bond to keep the peace, which he signed before leaving the courtroom.