Roscommon man claims he was drunk and barely remembers attending Mayo court

A man charged with failing to pay for meals in three Westport pubs claims he barely remembers being in court last week

By Anton McNulty Published 7th Jul 2026, 16:00 BST A man claimed he barely remembers attending a court in Castlebar last week | File pic A man charged with failing to pay for meals in three Westport pubs claims he barely remembers being in court last week Sign up to our Mayo Live newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Mayo Live within your account.

A ROSCOMMON man told a district court judge that he barely remembered attending court last week after he was accused of not paying for meals in three Mayo pubs.

Francis Johnston with an address at Birchgrove, Creagh, Ballinasloe, Co Roscommon appeared in Castlebar District Court this morning charged with three counts of making off without payment in relation to incidents in three Westport pubs on July 1 as well as intoxication in a public place.

Mr Johnston had been in custody since appearing in court on Thursday, July 2 after he failed to take up bail which was granted by Judge Michael Connellan.

At this morning sitting of the court, Mr Johnston was asked why he had not taken up his bail which involved paying a cash bond of €200. In response, he said he barely remembers being in court last week.

When Judge Connellan commented 'I remember you', the defendant responded, 'you weren't drunk'.

Due to the ongoing legal aid dispute whereby solicitors have withdrawn their service in the district court, Mr Johnston was not represented last Thursday or again this morning.

He asked Judge Connellan for a disclosure order to outline the circumstances of why he was charged.

Mr Johnston said that he is an alcoholic and he had fallen off the wagon last week and things were not going well for him after returning from Spain where he had spent ten days at a charity event.

Mr Johnston said that he had been engaging with his probation officer and going to AA meetings and claimed what happened to him last week was 'a blip'.

The court heard that gardaí had no objection to bail subject to Mr Johnston complying to certain conditions including signing on three days a week in Ballinasloe Garda Station and observing a curfew.

Judge Connellan told Mr Johnston that if he gets the money for the bail bond and complies with the conditions he will be released from custody.

Mr Johnston indicated he will get the money but until he was in a position to do that, Judge Connellan remanded him in custody with consent to bail to appear before Castlebar District Court on July 15.