Brian O’Connell, 51, of Pairc Ui Mhuirithe, Oakwood, Macroom, pleaded guilty at Macroom District Court to possession of cannabis and cultivation of cannabis plants.[1] Gardaí, Ireland’s police, searched his premises on the evening of 31 December 2025 and recovered cannabis valued at €240 along with two cannabis plants.[1] O’Connell admitted the drugs and plants were his and said they were for personal use.[1] The court heard he had 12 previous convictions, including one for possession of drugs and one for cultivation.[1]
Defence solicitor Sean Cahill said O’Connell grew the plants because he did not want to buy drugs from “undesirable elements”.[1] Cahill said there was no suggestion that O’Connell was supplying drugs to others.[1] Cahill said O’Connell had five children aged between 13 and 29 and worked as a truck driver.[1] He said O’Connell had stopped using cannabis in January.[1] The court heard O’Connell had used cannabis in the past because of medical issues and only smoked it in the evening.[1]
Judge Joanne Carroll said it was a serious matter for a professional driver to use cannabis.[1] O’Connell said he had never had an accident and had only smoked cannabis in the evenings.[1] Judge Carroll said she needed to be satisfied that, given his previous cultivation conviction, O’Connell was now drug-free.[1] She directed the Probation Service to prepare a report and ordered two random drug tests.[1] O’Connell was remanded on continuing bail to appear again on 20 January 2027 for the report and test results.[1]