*Ennis Courthouse.
A JUDGE HAS jailed a woman for seven days after she told victims of a firebombing attack on their home during a courtroom outburst that they were ‘f**k*n rats”.
Ar Ennis District Court, Judge Alec Gabbett imposed the seven day jail term on Julie Mongans (28) of Old Clarehill, Clarecastle after hearing that she made the verbal assault in a courtroom after her brother, Martin Mongans (35) received a sentence of four years and ten months for the firebomb attack “on a house full of children” in 2021.
Mr Mongans received the jail term in March at Ennis Circuit Court for the reckless endangerment offence when firing a shot-gun and throwing a petrol bomb at the O’Loughlin home at 25 Pearse Avenue, Cloughleigh, Ennis just after midnight on November 22nd 2021.
Imposing sentence, Judge Francis Comerford said that Mr Mongans of College Grove, Ennis had firebombed a house and used a shot-gun on a house where very young children were present.
Judge Comerford said that Mr Mongans’ “planned and premeditated attack on a house full of children” merits a heavy prison sentence in order to deter others carrying out such attacks.
Ms Mongans has pleaded guilty to a public order charge arising from the outburst and imposing the seven day prison term on Ms Mongans at Ennis District Court, Judge Gabbett said that he viewed any court outburst like the one committed by Ms Mongans as “extremely serious”.
Outlining the facts, Sgt Aiden Lonergan stated that after the sentence was handed down on Ms Mongans’ brother, Ms Mongans ran in the direction of the victims in court and verbally abused them calling them ‘fucking rats’ .
Sgt Lonergan stated that Ms Mongans “threatened that she would knock out their teeth. Ms Mongans had to be physically restrained by Garda as she was trying to get to the victims”.
He said, ”She continued to roar abuse at these people and had to be escorted out of the courtroom by Gardaí”.
Solicitor for Ms Mongans, Daragh Hassett stated that there was tension between Ms Mongans’ family and the victim’s family throughout the afternoon in court.
Mr Hassett stated, “She did what she did and she shouldn’t have done it. It was very poor behaviour and particularly poor behaviour in a courthouse”.
He said, “The court has always taken a dim view of people not behaving themselves in the confines of a court house. The victims in this case were the defendants in relation to another case so there was a case on either side”.
He said, “As I understand it, there has been no issue in relation to the two Ennis families since. It was tit for tat. Ms Mongans had no involvement in this. Ms Mongans knows that it is a very serious act to misbehave in a courthouse”.
He said, “It hasn’t happened before this and it won’t happen again. Gardaí brought her out, she walked away and she has had nothing to do with this family since”.
Mr Hassett said, “Ms Mongans is a young woman. She has had difficulties in the past in relation to a previous relationship that went very badly wrong for her on a number of levels, not least her physical safety”.
Judge Gabbett rejected a request by Mr Hassett to suspend the seven day term. Ms Mongans has appealed the decision on her own bond to Ennis Circuit Court and remains free pending the hearing of the case at the circuit court.
