A man accused of breaking a window and television at a local motel has been refused bail at Enniskillen Magistrates Court.

The court was told on Monday how on May 8, at around 9.50pm police received a report of damage to a room at the Belmore Court Motel and a window had been broken.

A female was staying in the room with her partner, Patrick James John McDonagh (35), of Sallys Wood, Irvinestown.

Two panes from a window were smashed as well as the television.

Full admissions

McDonagh was located on Belmore Street and arrested for criminal damage.

He made full admissions during an interview with the police.

A police officer told the court that they would be opposing McDonagh being released on bail due to the risk of reoffending and inability to abide by bail conditions.

They said he had more than 100 convictions and was alcohol-dependent, which was a major cause of his offending.

They added that until this was addressed, he would keep offending.

His barrister, Ciaran Roddy, conceded to a lot of what the officer said and that McDonagh had very many relevant convictions.

He said that McDonagh has indicated an issue with alcohol but pointed out that the court has tried to address it in the past by “drying him up” in remand, but time and time again it has been a “fruitless endeavour”.

Mr. Roddy asked the court to release McDonagh on stringent conditions and order that he seeks assistance from his GP to address his alcohol issues, concluding that “the revolving door of custody is not working”.

Remanded

District Judge Steven Keown agreed that how McDonagh has been dealt with is not effective, but the court is trying to protect the public from his behaviour and for that reason, he remanded McDonagh in custody until his next hearing on May 23.