An off-duty prison officer was set upon in a late night incident in Cork city centre, and now a 51-year-old man has confessed to attempted robbery and will be sentenced on February 5. Sergeant Aisling Murphy said the 28-year-old prison officer knew the assailant Jeremiah (Jerry) Foley, although solicitor Eddie Burke said Mr Foley did not know the injured party and did not know he was a prison officer. Mr Burke said that irrespective of that, Mr Foley acknowledged he should not have behaved in the manner in which he did. CCTV was downloaded and the prison officer was able to identify Mr Foley, Judge Mary Dorgan was told. He [the injured party] told him he was an off-duty prison officer hoping this would deter him but it did not have the desired effect,” Det Garda Moriarty said.

Source: Irish Examiner January 27, 2026 10:46 UTC