Woman who covered boyfriend in paint on Christmas morning amid egg-throwing row told to pay up

A “well educated” west Clare woman who covered her boyfriend “head to toe” in paint and also damaged his car and his sister’s car with the same beige paint on a Christmas morning has been told to pay up.

At Ennis District Court, Judge Alec Gabbett said that “there has to be some compensation” paid by Noelle Walsh (47) concerning the criminal damage to an Audi car at Christmas 2022 where the word ‘c***’ was keyed into the side of the car along with the paint damage.

In a row sparked by repeated egg throwing incidents at Ms Walsh’s home at The Square, Miltown Malbay, the court heard that Patrick Hurley was "covered head to toe in paint" by his girlfriend, Noelle Walsh on Christmas morning 2022. Mr Hurley’s car was also "covered in paint”.

READ MORE: Clare woman covered boyfriend 'head to toe' in paint on Christmas morning amid egg throwing row

READ MORE: Ex-Leicester City goalkeeper tried to headbutt garda in boozy Dublin stag 'melee'

In evidence, Ms Walsh previously told the court: "It was 7.30 Christmas morning. I was out of my mind. My house had been damaged three times by eggs. I had been physically assaulted by Cathriona Hurley, violently, and I was out of my mind, I shouldn't have done it. That is the truth.”

Ms Walsh also threw beige paint on the car of Mr Hurley’s sister, Cathriona (35) at Ballard Rd, Milltown Malbay. Garda Kevin Duffy said that the word ‘c***’ was also gouged onto the boot of Ms Hurley’s car on December 24th.

The criminal damage by Ms Walsh - to which she pleaded guilty to - came around 12 hours after she arrived at the Hurley family home at around 6.30pm on Christmas Eve to complain about her house being egged once more.

At a court in October, Judge Gabbett found both Ms Walsh and Ms Hurley guilty of the minor Section 2 assaults against each other after a contested hearing.

Cathriona Hurley at Ennis Court.

Judge Gabbett adjourned sentencing for the preparation of Probation Reports. After reading the Probation Reports, Judge Gabbett said that Ms Walsh “has a good job and is well educated - good prospects”. Judge Gabbett said: “Sometimes notoriety is sufficient punishment.” He said that one negative from the Probation Report “is a lack of empathy”.

Ms Walsh’s solicitor, Stiofan Fitzpatrick told the court that the report states that his client is at a low risk of re-offending.

He said that his client has not come to the attention of the Gardai since for anything. He said that Ms Walsh’s judgement on the occasion was impaired due to a mix of alcohol and it being the anniversary of her father’s death who she was very close to.

He said that on the notoriety aspect the case received a lot of coverage nationally with Ms Walsh’s photo appearing on a front page of a national newspaper.

He said: “If you do a Google search of the Walsh name and Miltown Malbay what comes up are the news articles about the case and her father’s death notice.”

He said: “It has discredited her hugely and caused her massive and untold embarrassment. She has endeavoured to get the articles removed from the platforms and she has failed.

Judge Gabbett said: “This all has to be done in public in the interests of justice.” Judge Gabbett said that the Probation Report sets this out where Ms Walsh says she is mortified. Solicitor for Ms Hurley, Daragh Hassett said that the payment of compensation by Ms Walsh for the car damage has to be addressed.

Mr Hassett handed into court an estimate of €7,842 provided by a car repairman to repair the damage to Ms Hurley’s Audi car. Judge Gabbett described the estimate as “off the wall” and said that he may require the repairman to come to court to explain the costs.

Mr Hassett said: “We are dealing with a car that the word c*** keyed into the side of it. That needs to be fixed.” He said: “Ms Hurley knows that the court may find the invoice as high but she is entitled to compensation for damage to the car.” Judge Gabbett agreed and told Mr Fitzpatrick “there has to be some compensation”. He said: “Some money has to be changing hands.”

On behalf of Ms Hurley, Mr Hassett described her as “a genuine, honest woman who has co-operated fully with the Probation Service”. He said: “She suffered considerable odium and public humiliation for what happened here judge.”

Judge Gabbett said that he was considering binding Ms Hurley to the peace and not impose any conviction. He said: “The public odium aspect is possibly sufficient punishment." Judge Gabbett adjourned both cases to March 5th for finalisation that will include the issue of compensation.

Join the Irish Mirror’s breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive breaking news and the latest headlines direct to your phone. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.