Kilkenny man fined for using e-scooter to obstruct garda

A young man who drove the wrong way down a city centre street on an e-scooter and obstructed a garda car was fined at Kilkenny District Court.

Michael Carthy, Bay 1, Wetlands Halting Site, Kilkenny pleaded guilty to the offence of wilful obstruction contrary to section 9 of The Public Order (Criminal Justice) Act which took place at Friary Street, Kilkenny on December 9, 2023.

Garda Colin McMenamin told the court that at 6.15pm on the date in question he turned off High Street onto Friary Street and was in the garda patrol car when he met a youth coming down the one-way street on an e-scooter.

“He stopped short of the patrol car. I asked him to move and he stayed still for a few seconds. Then he went past me and starting laughing,” he said, adding that the defendant, who has since apologised to the garda, eventually moved off the road onto the footpath.

The garda spoke to the defendant, Michael Carthy and confiscated the e-scooter.

Judge Geraldine Carthy convicted the defendant of wilful obstruction under the Act and imposed a fine of €200.