Coronavirus: Woman told police she would 'party as she wished', court hears

Sinead Corrigan appeared at Omagh courthouse via video link

A woman charged with breaching coronavirus regulations in NI told police she would continue to party when she wished, a court has been told.

Sinead Corrigan, 46, from Dillon Court, Strabane, is charged with contravening Covid-19 restrictions and failing to comply with a prohibition notice on 3 October.

She is the first person to be charged with breaching regulations in NI.

The 46-year-old has been released on conditional bail.

A PSNI officer told Enniskillen Magistrates Court, sitting in Omagh, that officers were initially called to reports of a party at Ms Corrigan's home on 2 October.

The court was told six people were suspected of being there, five of them from outside the area.

She was served with a prohibition notice but had another party the following day involving eight people.

When officers arrived, one was found hiding in a kitchen cupboard and another was asleep on a bed.

'Wake-up call'

The court heard that the defendant told police that she "didn't care about the regulations and would continue to party as she wished".

The office told the court that the police opposed bail and that the "defandant has been causing a lot of annoyance to other residents in the area".

The judge pointed to Ms Corrigan's remarks on her intention to continue to breach rules, however a defence solicitor said, given the nature of the charges, refusing bail would be "unprecedented".

He told the court: "My client advises this has been the longest weekend of her life. This was a wake-up call. She will agree to any conditions imposed by the court."

The judge agreed to release Ms Corrigan on £500 bail to reside at an address approved by police.

She must abide by a 23:00 to 07:00 curfew and is banned from possessing or consuming alcohol in public.