A former councillor charged with harassing a woman will have to wait two months for Director of Public Prosecutions’s (DPP) instructions in the matter.
oseph O’Donovan (47), who was formerly known as Gary O’Flynn, appeared before Cork District Court having been charged last year with one count of harassment.
The charge relates to three dates between July 30 and August 6, 2022, in Cork city.
Cork District Court was told last August by Detective Sergeant Katrine Tansley that the defendant made no reply when the charge was put to him after arrest and caution at the Bridewell garda station.
The charge is contrary to Section 10 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997.
Judge Olann Kelleher was told by Sergeant Pat Lyons that gardaí were seeking a further adjournment of the case until March 1 to allow for DPP directions.
Defence solicitor Frank Buttimer said his client had turned up in court on every occasion and was under restrictive bail conditions since the case first came before the court last August.
Mr Buttimer said it was a relatively straightforward case and that he could not understand the delay in relation to DPP directions.
Judge Kelleher noted Mr Buttimer’s comments but adjourned the case to March 1.
Mr O’Donovan was remanded on continuing bail until his next court appearance.
The former Cork City Council member must adhere to certain stringent bail conditions pending his next court appearance.
Mr O’Donovan must remain out of the area of Cork city centre except for medical or legal appointments.
He must stay away from specific named streets in Cork city.
The defendant was also previously ordered to abstain from all intoxicants in public and to sign on three times a week at Gurranabraher garda station on the northside of Cork city.
He must also reside at his home in Melvindale House, Coolowen, Blarney, Co Cork.
Mr O’Donovan must have no contact, direct or indirect, with the alleged injured party in the case.
The judge warned that this also applies to social and electronic media.
He also must obey a curfew from 10pm to 7am daily.
Mr O’Donovan is the son of former Cork TD Noel O’Flynn who served in the constituency of Cork North Central from 1997 until his retirement before the 2011 General Election.
Joseph O’Donovan, when he was known as Gary O’Flynn, was a sitting councillor in Cork city between 2003 to 2008.
He took his father’s old seat on Cork City Council in 2003 when the dual mandate ban first came into force.
He ended his political career five years later with his seat going to his brother, Kenneth.
Kenneth ‘Ken’ O’Flynn has held the council berth since 2008.
Councillor O’Flynn is currently an Independent, having left Fianna Fáil in 2020 after 25 years of membership.
He contested the 2020 General Election in Cork North Central as an Independent, only failing to win a seat on the 14th and final count.
