A staff member at the Forster Court Hotel was assaulted after refusing to change the channel on the lobby’s TV, Galway District Court heard last week.
Alan Doherty – a resident of the Fairgreen Hostel on Forster Street – punched the manager in the face on January 9th this year.
He had wandered in to the lobby around 5pm that evening and demanded staff change the TV channel.
When asked to leave, Doherty stood outside, where a staff member attempted to take a photo of him.
Upon seeing this he ran inside and struck the man in the face with his fist.
Doherty has 48 previous convictions, mostly for public order.
He was notably convicted for urinating in front of hotel guests in September last year.
The defense noted that Doherty apologised for the assault, stating that he has a serious mental health difficulty.
He is on medication but the condition becomes worse when he takes alcohol.
According to the defense, Doherty has said he wants professional help to manage his condition.
District Court judge Deirdre Gearty handed him a sentence of two months concurrent with a sentence he is already serving.
She also advised that he link up with psychiatric services after custody to help address his ongoing mental health issues.
