A PUBLIC order nuisance told gardai he was “king of Ireland”, headbutted a bystander and stole a vintage jacket from a shop dummy, a court has heard.

Declan Maguire (38) was arrested for his threatening behaviour in a series of disturbances in Dublin city centre.

Maguire, who is from Enfield, Co Meath, but is of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to assault, theft and multiple public order offences including breach of the peace and giving gardai a false name in incidents last year.

Dublin District Court heard that he was found slumped over on the footpath at Bachelors Walk at 3.55pm on May 21, 2017.

“He said he was the king of Ireland and wouldn’t under any circumstances co-operate with gardai and they were to f**k off and leave him the f**k alone,” a garda told the court.

Children were passing nearby at the time of the incident, the court heard.

At the Mater Hospital on June 11, Maguire was asked to leave and took off his jacket and raised his fists aggressively at paramedics.

FIGHT

On June 15, he stole a jacket from a mannequin at a vintage shop in George’s Street Arcade.

Gardai found him wearing it over a backpack, he refused to remove it and became extremely aggressive.

At 2.50pm on October 19, Maguire was roaring at members of the public on North Earl Street, asking them to fight him.

When gardai told him to leave, he said he was “a citizen of this country and you can’t tell me what to do”.

When another man approached, Maguire headbutted him in the face, causing a minor injury.

In other incidents, he was seen spitting in the direction of members of the public in the Temple Bar area.

Maguire had now “stabilised” and was a different man compared with how he presented last year, his barrister Joseph Mulrean said.

He had not grown up “in great circumstances”.

Maguire had done a computer programming course and had worked on a golf course, but lost that job.

Judge Ann Ryan adjourned the case for victim impact and probation reports.

Herald