Piercestown man charged with burglary and assaulting priest

ROSS BOLGER from Piercestown faced a charge in Wexford Court alleging that he assaulted Piercestown parish priest Father John O’Reilly.

The 21-year-old was also accused of a burglary at the parochial house on August 6.

It was alleged that €400 worth of cash, along with a gold chain valued at €250, was taken during the incident.

The lack of cells in which to detain defendants while in custody at the temporary courthouse in Ardcavan was highlighted at the District Court sitting in Ardcavan.

When the case against Bolger was called, Sergeant Gary Rayner had no directions to pass on from the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The sergeant was concerned that Bolger had become violent while in the precincts of the court waiting for the matter to be dealt.

The accused was held in a prison van and was not brought into the courtroom where he was represented by a solicitor.

As there were no cells, Rayner looked for a remand in custody to a sitting of the Courts of Criminal Justice in Dublin rather than bringing the prisoner back to Wexford.

On that basis, the matter was adjourned for a fortnight to the CCJ in the hope that the DPP’s decision will be available by August 23.

Solicitor Ed King confirmed that a request for psychiatric assessment of his client was included in the prison paperwork.