Ross Lahive gets three months for assaults at children's story event in Kerry library
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Irish People Party candidate Ross Lahive has been handed down a three-month jail sentence at Tralee District Court on Friday afternoon for his part in disrupting a Drag story event for children at Tralee library in July 2023.
Refusing to consider a suspended sentence, Judge David Waters said Mr Lahive was “the prime mover” and had shown zero remorse for his part in the violent attack during which children had to be shielded and words like 'prostitutes' and 'grooming' were used. The only threat to the children were the three who arrived from Cork with the intention of disrupting the event, the judge said.
Fines have been handed down in the case of two co-accused. The three had denied all the charges. Hearings of the case took place in Tralee and Listowel, during which video footage was shown of noisy disruption of the event organised by Kingdom Pride.
Last Monday, all three were convicted by Judge David Waters. Sentencing was deferred to allow victim impact statements to be handed in by State solicitor Diane Reidy.
45-year-old Ross Lahive, who was an Irish People Party candidate in the Ireland South constituency in the European elections, of Church Street, Shandon Street, Cork, had denied assaulting four people, including a library security guard, a woman, a male photographer for the event and another man. He was convicted on all four assault charges contrary to Section 2 of Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997.
“There is clear evidence in relation to all four assaults,” the judge had said. They included barging aside of a young man on door duty, throwing a man on the ground, twisting the arm of the female and assaulting a photographer, the judge detailed.
Eugene Manley, barrister for Lahive, in a plea for mitigation at the sentencing on Friday said his client had co-operated fully with gardaí, was not under the influence of drugs or drink and was entitled to his views.
Mr Lahive, who is unemployed, had previously worked in construction and had studied computer programming. He had worked in Canada, the US and Australia. He was currently engaged to do a safe pass “manual handling course” and “wished to get his life back on track,” the barrister said.
He had not realized the definition of assault and at other similar events in libraries in Cork City there had been no garda involvement, Mr Manlely said, asking the judge to consider the use of umbrellas in Tralee by the Drag event organisers.
Ross Lahive accepted there were “high emotions” on the day; and he had a martial arts background.
The court was told he had a previous conviction for a public order offence dating to a month prior to the July 13 Tralee library incident. He was given the probation act on December 4 for that incident.
Judge Waters said Mr Lahive was “the prime mover”; he had carried out video recordings which were of great help to the court — and had uploaded them on social media and they included videoing six-year-old children.
“That can’t be tolerated,” the judge said. "People were entitled to protest and had there been a peaceful protest, we would not be here today." There was no expression of remorse and only a slight glimmer of insight he had carried out assaults, the judge said.
After a brief consultation with Ross Lahive Mr Manley told the judge: “He stands by his moral views, he instructs me.” Judge Waters said Mr Manley’s client was in court because of the assaults.
The judge said:
He had shown zero remorse, the judge said, and he could not avoid a custodial sentence.
He sentenced Lahive to three months in the case of one assault and two months each in the case of the three other persons all to run concurrently. The public order conviction is being taken into consideration.
Amid pleas by Lahive’s barrister, to suspend the sentence the judge said: “This man has steadfastly maintained he did nothing wrong. There is no room for a suspended sentence.” He could lodge an appeal if he wished, the judge said, fixing recognizances.
The only threat to the six- and seven-year-olds in the library that day were "these three”, the judge repeated a number of times.
Margo Mills, a part-time clerical officer, aged 37 of Carnloch Drive, The Glen, Cork, had denied using threatening and abusive words or behaviour, contrary to Section 6 of The Public Order Act. Ms Mills had also denied assaulting another woman, contrary to Section 2 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.
Judge Waters said he had no doubt about the threatening and abusive behaviour by Ms Mills and he was also convicting her of assault, though the assault was more technical in nature and she’s seen pushing people out of her way.
“She was a very willing participant in this attempt to disrupt this event,” the judge said, imposing fines totalling €900.
Ms Mills's solicitor Padraig O’Connell had said she had fully contested the case and she did not accept the verdict of the court. She was a married woman with a young family and had never previously come to the notice of gardaí or since.
She had adopted a principled view and she was lodging an appeal. “Her principled view put her in this position,” Mr O’Connell said.
Stephen McGeough, aged 57, of Devonshire Street, Cork, who works part-time in a charity shop had also denied the use of threatening or insulting words provoking breach of the peace under the Public Order Act. He too was convicted and fined €400.
Mr Manley, his barrister, said his client was suffering ill health and had no previous convictions.
However, Judge Waters said he had pleaded not guilty and he imposed the fine.
Victim impact statements were handed into the court and read by the judge.
Mr Lahive was immediately taken into custody and preparations were being made to lodge an appeal.
After the court case the Listowel Family Resource Centre, which organised the Kingdom Pride event in Tralee Library, welcomed the ruling.
The aim of the 121 Family Resource Centres nationwide was to build strong cohesive and diverse communities improving the lives of everyone, it said.
Jackie Landers, CEO, of Listowel FRC said it was heartening to see libraries and public places being protected.
“Community members and families should be able to attend organised events safely and without threat to them and their children,” Ms Landers said.
"The court’s decision is very important as it sets a precedent that the staff of FRCs, libraries, and other community organisations serving the public must be kept safe in doing their work and that threatening, abusive, and harmful behaviour will not be tolerated," she said.