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Derry man known as 'Gutsy' can sometimes 'go beyond a joke', court told today

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Reporter:

Michael Heverin

30 Oct 2015 4:13 PM

The solicitor of a Derry man today said ‘everyone in the town knows him’ and that while sometimes he may be funny, ‘sometimes he can go beyond a joke’. Patrick McGonagle, known locally as ‘Gutsy’, appeared before Derry Magistrates Court today on a charge of disorderly behaviour. The offence took place earlier this month on October 3, on the Strand Road. The court heard, on the day in question, 52-year-old McGonagle, of Moyola Drive in Shantallow, had drunkenly walked in the middle of traffic and repeatedly told police to ‘f*** off’ when they tried to make him move on. District Judge Barney McElholm had said: “Quite frankly, I don’t know what to do with this man. He gets drunk and misbehaves in public all the time.” He adjourned the matter and when McGonagle appeared again for sentencing, Paddy MacDermott, his solicitor said that McGonagle was not malicious but more of a ‘nuisance’. He added that every police officer and ‘everyone in the town’ knows him and that while he may think he is sometimes funny, that ‘sometimes he can go beyond a joke’. Judge McElholm formally deferred the matter until April 8, 2016, and ordered McGonagle to commit no further offences. He added: “He must also pay £200 to HURT, an organisation who deal with problems as his to put something back into the community because he certainly takes plenty out of it.”  

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