A MAN who was in Portlaoise hospital phoned the gardaí at 2.30am to arrest him, but when they arrived, he said he didn’t want to be arrested.

However, the gardaí were informed by A&E staff that the man had been highly abusive to nurses and doctors.

In one incident while the gardaí were present, the man told a doctor that he “didn’t give a f**k about him”.

The incident at the hospital occurred on 10 January.

Just over a month later, on 18 February at 3.20am, gardaí were called to the man’s home, where he was found in a highly intoxicated state and had to be arrested for his own safety.

Arising from both incidents the 23-year-old was before a recent sitting of Portlaoise District Court last Thursday, where he pleaded guilty to being intoxicated and engaging in threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour at the hospital and being intoxicated at his home address in February.

The court was told that the man had 12 previous convictions and that gardaí have been dealing with him for the past seven years.

Defending solicitor Barry Fitzgerald said that his client has “significant issues with alcohol. Without alcohol, he’s a mild-mannered gentleman” and that he “was petrified having to come to court. He now knows that he must turn a corner and stay away from alcohol”.

Judge Andrew Cody said: “Doctors have a difficult enough time as it is. The hospital has enough to be doing without having to deal with people like this acting the maggot.”

He went on to convict the defendant of threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour in the hospital and sentenced him to six months in prison, suspended for three years, and took the other matters into consideration.