Former Fianna Fáil councillor harassed young waitress, court told

A young waitress was harassed at work by a former councillor who told her she was the 'prettiest girl' he had ever seen, kissed her hand, tried to get her phone number, and stared at her both in the restaurant and through the window outside, a court has heard.

Joseph O’Donovan, formerly known as Gary O’Flynn, appeared before Cork District Court today having previously pleaded guilty to one count of harassment. The harassment occurred on three occasions in late July/early August 2022.

Sgt John Kelleher told the court that Mr O’Donovan (49) went to a restaurant in Cork city centre on July 30th, 2022. He stayed for two hours during which time he was drinking wine.

He flagged down a 25-year-old waitress and kissed her hand telling her that she was 'the nicest and prettiest girl he had ever seen.' He continued to engage the young woman in conversation while he was in the restaurant. His behavior made her deeply uneasy.

Sgt Kelleher said that Mr O’Donovan wanted to be served by the same waitress. He ordered food and wine. The waitress felt that he was continuously staring in her direction. He again took her hand and kissed it. He breathed into her ear and said 'Meet me outside for a tip and I better get your phone number for it.'

The court heard that Mr O’Donovan then went outside and started staring in the window. Sgt Kelleher said the waitress went out and told the accused that he wasn’t welcome and should leave.

'Mr O’Donovan went back in again and asked (the waitress) could he see her again. He was asked to leave by management. He threw a fifty euro note at the waitress.'

Mr O’Donovan returned to the restaurant on 6 August, 2022, at around 10:30 pm when the premises was near closing. The waitress told him to leave, and Mr O’Donovan said that he was 'sorry' and that he 'couldn’t help it.'

Mr O’Donovan was arrested later that month. He told gardaí he thought the young woman was 'very pretty' and that he kissed her hand in a manner seen in movies. He claimed that he had carried out the gesture out of politeness and courtesy.

The former Fianna Fáil councillor said that he thought his interactions with the woman were 'congenial.' He claimed that he never meant to upset her. He added that he believed that he was simply flirting with the restaurant worker. He insisted he was very sorry for what had occurred.

Sgt Kelleher detailed the previous convictions of the accused. He said the most serious of those 26 convictions involved Mr O’Donovan soliciting a person to murder three people, one of whom was a Garda Siochana.

Sgt Kelleher told Judge Mary Dorgan that Mr O’Donovan was jailed for five years with the last three years suspended in April 2015 after he pleaded guilty to soliciting someone to kill the three individuals. Other convictions included offenses such as deception, making gains, using a false instrument, and public order.

The young woman who was harassed by Mr O’Donovan opted to give her own victim impact statement.

She said that she had waited three years to have her say in court about what happened to her.

'For three years I have never stopped looking over my shoulder when I heard steps behind me. This man looked me in the eye and called himself a creep. This man looked me in the eyes and called himself a stalker. Then laughed about it.

'Laughter with a laugh that still makes me recoil in fear to this day. That moment has never left me. Because in that moment, I realized I wasn’t dealing with someone who didn’t understand boundaries, but someone who chose to violate them.'

She said that the accused felt that his 'desire' outweighed her right to say 'no.'

'He threw money around as if that gave him the right to harass me. His actions were not misunderstandings; they were deliberate. He ignored every boundary and pushed further each time. It wasn’t harmless. It was obsessive and it left me terrified in places that I used to feel safe.'

She added that she would never forget Mr O’Donovan’s 'stares, his weird comments, or the way he would linger and wait.'

Judge Mary Dorgan thanked the woman for coming to court and for making a 'powerful' victim impact statement.

Defence solicitor, Frank Buttimer, said that his client was hugely remorseful for his actions. He said that while he wasn’t minimizing what occurred, the offenses were viewed by the DPP as being 'minor' in nature.

Mr Buttimer said that he had certain concerns about aspects of the victim impact statement. He added that his client went to the restaurant on the third occasion to apologize to the young woman. Mr Buttimer acknowledged that the accused had 'failed to read the situation properly.'

'If he never went to the premises again, I believe we wouldn’t be here.'

Mr Buttimer said that the case was struck out in 2023 because of a failure to make progress only for it to be subsequently re-entered.

He said that his client was suffering from an 'over-reliance on alcohol' at the time of the offense. Mr O’Flynn has a history of depression and anxiety and is on the autistic spectrum.

Mr O’Donovan hasn’t had any contact, direct or indirect, with the complainant over the last three years. He gave an undertaking to the court to stay away from the woman and her family.

Judge Mary Dorgan remanded Mr O’Donovan on bail until 3 October next when sentencing will be finalized. Up-to-date reports will be prepared in the interim.

Mr O’Donovan is the son of former TD, Noel O’Flynn, who served in the constituency of Cork North Central from 1997 until his retirement in 2011. He recently returned to politics at council level.

Joseph O’Donovan, when he was known as Gary O’Flynn, was a sitting councillor in Cork city from 2003 to 2008.

The former solicitor took his father’s old seat on the council in 2003 when the dual mandate ban came into force. He concluded his political career five years later with his seat going to his brother, Ken, who recently became an Independent Ireland TD in Cork North Central.

Noel O’Flynn has taken up the city council seat vacated by his son Ken.