‘I was only seeing what I looked like’: Woman risks night in the cells after taking photo in Cork court

Leanne Hegarty had her phone confiscated by Garda Conor O’Callaghan who immediately brought it to the attention of Judge Mary Dorgan that Ms Hegarty had taken a photograph in Courtroom 1 of the courthouse at Anglesea Street, Cork.

Ms Hegarty, 30, complained loudly: “The guard took my phone off me.” Judge Dorgan said: “I will find out in a minute why he did.” 

Ms Hegarty said: “Because I took a picture of myself. He needs a warrant to take the phone off me. He grabbed it out of my hand, your honour.” 

The judge directed the guard to retain the phone for examination and told Ms Hegarty to leave the courtroom quietly and wait to be called before lunch in relation to her phone. The judge told the young woman not to pass comments about the guard as she was leaving and not to disrupt the court.

Ms Hegarty complained to the judge: 

You are just doing this in spite, like. 

The judge repeated: “No photographs are allowed in court.” 

Ms Hegarty said: “You can’t see nothing only my face.” Judge Dorgan replied: “You are not going to be allowed to disrupt the court anymore.” 

About an hour later the case was called again and Garda O’Callaghan said he had examined the phone and was satisfied there was only one picture taken and it had not been shared. He said he had deleted it from the phone.

Judge Dorgan told the young woman who lives with Cork Simon Community, as her phone was returned to her, that she was lucky to be leaving court without being remanded in custody overnight for contempt of court. 

The judge said there were signs up and people were told every day that using phones or taking pictures was not allowed in court. And that it was not fair on other people with business in court who might appear on pictures like that.

Even at that late stage and following all the explanations given to Ms Hegarty, who was before the court on a public order charge dating back to December 2022, she was not finished, saying again, “I was only seeing what I looked like.”