Northern Ireland

Court hears Cathal McCarron had to be restrained during row in Dublin bar

Tyrone GAA footballer Cathal McCarron. Picture by Margaret McLaughlin
Tyrone GAA footballer Cathal McCarron. Picture by Margaret McLaughlin Tyrone GAA footballer Cathal McCarron. Picture by Margaret McLaughlin

TYRONE footballer Cathal McCarron had to be restrained after he rowed with staff in a Dublin city centre pub, a court has heard.

The 28-year-old has pleaded guilty to engaging in threatening, insulting and abusive behaviour at Anglesea Street in Temple Bar on May 12 this year.

Dublin District Court heard on Monday that McCarron had to be restrained by bouncers before he was put out of the Auld Dubliner pub.

He was then said to have become aggressive to gardaí who came to investigate.

A Garda told the court the GAA player was warned to calm down but was arrested after he threw his top on the ground.

A solicitor for McCarron handed in a letter from the Dromore man apologising to gardaí.

Adjourning the case for a week, Judge Michael Walsh said the footballer would not be given a criminal record if he donated €500 to a homeless charity.

McCarron, who has been nominated for a 2016 GAA All-Star award, is set to release a tell-all autobiography later this week.

He is also expected to speak about his recovery from gambling addiction on RTÉ's The Late, Late Show as part of publicity obligations with his publishers.

The appearance next week would break an unofficial boycott of the state broadcaster by the Tyrone senior team.

Manager Mickey Harte has not spoken to RTÉ since an insensitive radio sketch was broadcast just months after the murder of his daughter Michaela on honeymoon in Mauritius.

Since then members of the Tyrone senior squad have also refused to deal with RTÉ.

The Tyrone County Board and Mickey Harte were not available for comment on Monday night.

McCarron (28) was part of Harte's All-Ireland winning squad in 2008 and was a key figure in the county's Ulster Championship success this year.

His book, Out of Control, reveals how the county manager supported him as his life spiralled out of control and visited him as he made a recovery at a rehabilitation centre in Co Galway.

McCarron tells how he gambled away up to £200,000 - stolen mostly from his father - before the age of 21.

He also admits he concocted a fake cancer charity skydive to swindle cash from his neighbours, and describes how he took part in a gay pornography film to feed his "destructive habit".

The 28-year-old writes that Mickey Harte has "always stuck by me", including providing a character reference when he was brought to court for fraudulently using credit cards in his mother's name to access more gambling money.

The book, written with Christy O'Connor, is released on Thursday.