Young driver apologises for 'degrading' social media post about Tullamore garda

A LAW should be brought in so that people who publish abusive posts on social media can be prosecuted, Judge Keenan Johnson told Tullamore Circuit Court.

Judge Johnson was commenting after hearing about a young man's “extremely offensive” post in relation to a garda who had stopped him for driving offences.

Garda Patrick McGee told the court a member of the public drew his attention to a post containing what he described as a “degrading comment” about him on a social media account of Evan McMorrow (20), Killeenmore, Killeigh.

The exact words used in the post were not read out in court but the post was shown to Judge Johnson who was hearing Mr McMorrow's appeal against the severity of penalties imposed on him last year in the District Court.

In the lower court Judge Andrew Cody had imposed a three-month prison sentence on Mr McMorrow for driving without reasonable consideration on September 18, 2024 on the N80, Killeigh. He was also convicted of other motoring offences, including having no insurance.

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Judge Cody also fined the accused, an apprentice mechanic, €5,000 and disqualified him from driving for 10 years.

When the appeal came before the Circuit Court Garda McGee recalled that on September 18, 2024 he had been on duty on a motorcycle at 12.43pm when he saw a 2008 Mayo registered car revving, emitting black smoke and screeching its tyres near Killeigh village.

Garda McGee said two front windows of the vehicle were “heavily tinted” and the driver Mr McMorrow said he had a provisional licence but had no L plates, no tax and no NCT because the car had failed the test.

The garda said that “eventually” the driver said he had failed the theory test and also admitted he'd been trying to spin the wheels of the car.

Fixed charge notices were issued but not paid and insurance was not produced.

Garda McGee was then made aware of the social media comment and contacted Mr McMorrow, demanding it be removed, which it was.

“I was absolutely disgusted by it,” said the garda.

Replying to David Nugent, BL, defence counsel for Mr McMorrow, Garda McGee said when he rang the driver about the post at first it was denied and then he accepted he posted it.

The garda added that there were other people in the car at the time of the offences and “he was doing it for show”.

Called to give evidence in court himself, Mr McMorrow apologised to Garda McGee and said what he had done was wrong.

He said he had lost his mother in a house fire and his father had been abusing alcohol and he himself “went very wild”, driving carelessly and thinking he was a “cool lad”.

The young man said it was the biggest mistake of his life but detailed that after the death of his mother he had been “minding himself” at a time when one of his two older brothers was in Australia and the other was with a girlfriend.

He agreed with a suggestion from Mr Nugent that Garda McGee is “one of the premier road traffic guards” and was only doing his job.

Outlining how he had changed his life, he said he was nearing the completion of an apprenticeship as a diesel mechanic and one of his brothers was bringing him to work every day.

As well as spending a week in Cloverhill because of his offending, Mr McMorrow said his brothers had sat him down to speak to him.

Judge Johnson asked if there had been any reports made to the gardai about the appellant since and Sandra Mahon, Offaly state solicitor, said he was a suspect in an assault incident in Galway last year when he was with another male.

Mr McMorrow said that was at a time when he was drinking again but he stopped drinking four months ago and was trying to work as much as he could and move forward with life.

Judge Johnson said the social media post was “outrageous” and remarked that “gardai have a tough enough job to do” without such unacceptable vulgar material being posted.

He adjourned finalisation of the appeal to June 4 next for a report to assess Mr McMorrow's suitability for community service.

He indicated he could order him to complete 240 hours of community service in lieu of the three-month sentence but also ordered him to pay €1,500 to the Garda Benevolent Fund.

“None of this is going to be tolerated,” remarked the judge, saying legislation should be introduced so “these kinds of posts” can be prosecuted.

When the matter came before the District Court the judge was shown a screenshot from Mr McMorrow's TikTok page which, Garda McGee said, showed a picture of the garda and an insulting, untrue statement about him.

In June last year the District Court was told Mr McMorrow had 22 previous convictions, including two for dangerous driving.

After being placed in custody for a week by Judge Cody the defendant told the court: “It really did give me a kick up the hole and I learned my lesson and I'm sorry.”