Naked rampage dad wants to be ‘role model’ for son
A BUSINESSMAN who caused more than €66,000 of damage to a hotel while naked said he wants to be a role model for his son after he puts his court case behind him.
Eamon Devlin pulled the taps off walls causing extensive flood damage to four bedrooms in Ballyliffin Lodge Hotel in Co. Donegal in 2016.
Letterkenny Circuit Court was told the 41year-old marketing manager had wrecked his own room and then arrived nude in the hotel lobby cradling his three-year-old son. He told staff his room had been ransacked by ‘gypsies’.
Devlin, of Drumintee Road, Kileavy, Newry, Co. Down, pleaded not guilty, claiming his consumption of tablets with alcohol had led to a case of ‘involuntary intoxication’.
A two-day trial heard how Devlin booked into the hotel with his son in September 2016 as he was going through a divorce and wanted to spend time with his boy. They had enjoyed a day out playing pitch and putt before having a swim and some bar food at the hotel. He had a pint of Carlsberg, an Irish coffee and took a bottle of wine to his room.
At 11.30pm Devlin ordered another bottle of wine to be brought to his room. However, in the early hours of the morning, around 5am, Mr Devlin arrived in the reception of the hotel naked carrying his son who was in his pyjamas. He asked staff to come to his room, number 214, claiming there were ‘gypsies’ there and he needed to get them out.
Room 214 later had to be forced open and was found to be under three inches of water. Sinks had been pulled off the bathroom wall and there was also broken glass everywhere. The court was told that the water later spread to three other rooms and at one stage it appeared that the ceiling of one room almost collapsed. Upon arrest, Devlin blamed a combination of stress, medication and alcohol for his behaviour and offered to pay compensation for the damage.
A jury this summer found Devlin guilty. State prosecutor Patricia McLaughlin had contended: ‘If he had never consumed this second bottle of wine this would never have happened. It has nothing to do with an over-the-counter medication that most of the population have taken.’
At Letterkenny Circuit Court yesterday, Devlin apologised to the staff of the hotel and the gardaí. He said: ‘I am deeply sorry and ashamed. It was totally out of character and it was meant to be a fun weekend with my son.
‘It was irrational behaviour and it should not have happened. The last five years have been a nightmare for me personally. I want to be a role model for my son... I have to live with this but I want to rebuild my life.’ Judge John Aylmer adjourned sentencing to Friday.