Kerry vs Tyrone is the definitive gaelic football rivalry of the twenty-first century. As any Kerry person will tell you, the Kingdom have been on the wrong side of that rivalry too many times.
Yesterday there was another victory for the Red Hand, though this one didn't come in Croke Park, or even Fitzgerald Stadium. Yesterday in Listowel District Court, charges against Tyrone legend Owen Mulligan for allegedly failing to give a blood or urine sample to Listowel guards during the summer of 2014 were dismissed.
Mulligan has won three All-Ireland's, but none of those wins were as hard fought as this one. The case is a wonderful example of what happens when GAA stars and rural guards meet after closing hours.
The Radio Kerry website have the details. According to the report, Mugsy was first arrested on August 29, 2014 under the suspicion of being drunk in an automobile after attending a wedding. He was then brought to the local garda station, where he allegedly declined to give a breath sample. During a sitting last September, Mulligan claimed he refused to give a breath sample because he had broken a few ribs in a recent match.
The guards then suggested that Mulligan give a blood and/or urine sample to a local doctor John Halkett. Mulligan allegedly declined the offer "because because he didn’t believe he was a doctor".
The justice system seemed distinctly frustrated with Mr Mulligan. The judge called him a 'very awkward customer'. Guards called him "obstreperous” and “aggressive”.
Obstreperous!
In dismissing the case, the judge cited DPP v Cagney, where a "woman failed to provide a breath sample due a cough and chest infection." The case was ultimately thrown out because 'guards failed to inform him of his obligations".
In the end, justice, GAA-style, was done.
