Irish Cahir O’Higgins got a reprieve, sort of, from prison, so he could ride a bike race. The cyclist and (former) lawyer was sentenced back on July 10 to 16 months in prison but asked for it to be delayed so he could ride the Gran Fondo worlds in Denmark.
He was charged for assault causing harm and harassing a former colleague, according to a report from Sticky Bottle.
Two separate cases against him
O’Higgins, was convicted Friday in Dublin’s courts for stealing €400 (around 580 Canadian) from a client in 2016 and for four counts of perverting the course of justice. The convictions led to the lifting of a media reporting ban on a separate assault and harassment case from July.
During the earlier case, O’Higgins had told the court he wished to represent Ireland “with pride” in the 45-49 age group race at the world championships. With the ban lifted, those comments and other details of the case can now be reported.
Wanted to wear the Irish kit ‘with pride’
The Irishman, who sounds like a real winner, admitted to assaulting Stephen O’Mahony, a former colleague and rival lawyer, as well as harassing him between June of 2020 and February of 2021. In July he was sentenced to 16 months in prison for these offences.
“I think I owe the sport of cycling a proper goodbye,” O’Higgins said in a speech. “I should wear the Irish colours with pride.”
He may be a lousy person, but clearly a good speaker in court as the judge agreed. The judge, however, did use colourful words to describe him. Sticky Bottle said the judge called him “deranged”, “thuggish”, “base” and “despicable.”
“He chose to bully Mr. O’Mahony out of the space he was occupying on a professional basis,” Judge Connolly told the court. “Mr. O’Higgins believed he was the law, as opposed to being amenable to the law.”
The court also heard that O’Higgins had persistently accused Mr. O’Mahony of stealing his clients. He sent a barrage of threatening messages via email and text and was recorded on video saying, “I will fucking get you.” (Again, total winner.)
Well, not quite a winner. He finished 131st in his 45-49 age category. After arriving home from Denmark, he immediately went to prison.
By the way, if you want to watch a terrific ending to a movie about someone convicted of a crime being driven to prison to serve their time, check out The 25th Hour, with Ed Norton and Brian Cox. In a moving monologue, Cox, who plays Norton’s…
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