A JUDGE HAS ordered the arrest of a man after he failed to appear in court over a drunken attack on Dublin Airport workers who stopped him chasing his flight as it getting ready to take off.

Patrick Kehoe (24) was tackled after he dashed onto the tarmac at Terminal 1 at about 7am on 27 September last year.

The Co Wexford man had missed his flight but had tried to flag down his Amsterdam bound plane.

He had completed a three-month restorative justice services programme supervised by the Probation Service and was due to appear again at Dublin District Court for sentencing today.

He had been sick and was in hospital last week when the court had granted and adjournment but there was no sign of him when the case was supposed to resume today.

Judge Carol Anne Coolican allowed the case to called threes times over the course of the day.

On third time, his solicitor Niall Walsh said he had no explanation for his client’s absence.

He told the court he understood that a probation report on his client was favourable.

He said he was not in a position to oppose a Garda application for a bench warrant, which the judge granted.

The court has heard Kehoe was late for his flight but managed to get through the boarding gate and a door leading to the tarmac, close to the Ryanair plane.

Kehoe was restrained and held until gardaí arrived and brought him under arrest to Ballymun Station.

Guilty plea

Patrick Kehoe, from Raheenaskeagh, Oulart, Co Wexford pleaded guilty in January to two counts of assaulting the Airport Police Service (APS) woman and a male aircraft ground handler who intervened as he ran after his flight which was getting ready to take off.

Garda David Cahill had told an earlier hearing that Kehoe, who previously worked as a carpenter’s assistant, was at the airport with his girlfriend to go on holiday to Amsterdam.

But Kehoe got to his boarding gate too late and found it closed.

He got past it and onto the apron of the airport and chased the aircraft.

Ground handlers were marshalling the plane which was taxiing onto the runway.

The court heard he attacked one of them by “pushing him and tripping him back onto the ground”.

The APS woman went to stop him but he kicked her causing he to suffer a swollen knee.

The court has heard he had one prior conviction for assault for which he was placed on probation for 12 months in 2013.

Garda Cahill had agreed Kehoe was “a little bit intoxicated” at the time of the incident.

“By his own admission, he had a few pints before the flight and that may have something to do with missing the boarding call,” he had said.

Pleading for leniency, the defence had said Kehoe was going to Amsterdam with his partner and he “had not been out of the country for many years”.

Kehoe acted stupidly and impulsively, and did not have a bad record, his solicitor said in pleas for leniency. He had pleaded guilty without seeking disclosure of evidence.

The garda agreed the door Kehoe went out was normally secure and he had been apprehended in seconds.

His solicitor had said plane and its passengers were not delayed by Kehoe’s foolishness, however, the garda had said, “I believe there was a knock on effect”.

The accused sobered up after the incident and the garda agreed Kehoe was not a problem when he dealt with him.

However, there had been “a significant amount of confrontation” during the incident.

The court was told he had been Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and was taking medication.

He was unemployed but had previously worked with a carpenter.

Kehoe, who was granted legal aid, was apologetic, the court was told.

The court had heard Kehoe had been drinking in a bar at the airport but on looking at his watch he realised he was late and went to the boarding gate.

He overreacted and managed get out a door that would not normally have been available to him and got onto the apron.

He very much regretted the incident and was willing to offer compensation.

His partner had been supportive, the court was told.

Comments are closed as legal proceedings are ongoing.