Man arrested following dispute with neighbour attempted to headbutt garda

A MAN arrested following a dispute with a neighbour attempted to headbutt a gardai while being arrested, a court heard.

James Colmey (49), with an address of Carrigmore Place, Saggart, appeared before Tallaght District Court, facing criminal justice charges.

Garda Samuel Lafferty Nolan told the court that on December 24, 2025, gardai responded to an incident at Carrigmore Green, Citywest, and met the accused who matched the description of somebody who caused damage to a resident’s window.

Mr Colmey was intoxicated at the scene and told gardai to “f**k off.”

While being conveyed to Tallaght Garda Station, Mr Colmey attempted to headbutt a garda and said he would “waste their families.”

The court heard Colmey has 45 previous convictions including one for violent behaviour.

Defence solicitor Ciara Ní Ghabhann said her client is not a man who drinks regularly but had drank to excess on the night in question, doesn’t have a clear memory of the incident and had apologised.

There had been “ongoing issues” between the injured party and her client but this has been resolved, and the pair have “shook hands” on the matter, said Ms Ní Ghabhann.

Her client had apologised to all involved on the night and was willing to make a donation to charity, having already made efforts to repay damage to the window pane, valued at €350.

Colmey told Judge Derek Cooney that he was attending AA meetings and that he had “no excuse” for his actions.

Judge Cooney was concerned that the accused had threatened gardai with courts being lenient in the past and he was “not having that.”

Judge Cooney imposed a six-month sentence suspended for a period of 12 months, on the defendant’s own bond of €1,000.

“You can’t go around doing that,” said Judge Cooney.

Funded by the Local Courts Reporting Scheme