Man armed with knives and hammer wanted ‘gardaí to shoot him dead’

A man accused of smashing the windows of a garda van with a lump hammer and brandishing knives at a garda station hoped that he would be shot dead by gardaí, it was claimed in court on Monday.

Finbarr Savage (43) appeared at Cork District Court charged with causing criminal damage to a garda patrol van and producing two knives at Mayfield Garda Station in Cork on December 17th.

Mr Savage from Glenamoy Lawn in Mayfield in Cork had been arrested at the scene on Sunday and charged at the station with the offences by Garda Dermot Broughton, the court was told.

Det Garda Edmund O’Donoghue said Mr Savage’s thought processes at the time were truly chilling as he planned to attack and kill a garda in the hope he would be shot dead by armed gardaí.

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Det Garda O’Donoghue said the State’s case against Mr Savage would involve witnesses alleging that he “was observed with a lump hammer and two knives” on the grounds of Mayfield Garda Station.

“He intended to kill or cause harm for the purpose of causing the gardaí to shoot him dead. His intention was to attack or kill a guard - whatever he had to do so that they would shoot him.”

Savage carried a change of clothing in case he needed to evade capture if his plan did not work out or to be used as a change of clothes if required for use in a mortuary, alleged Det Garda O’Donoghue

Inspector Ronan Kennelly told the court the gardaí were afraid that Mr Savage would commit serious offences if released on bail and he applied to the court to have him remanded in custody.

Mr Savage's solicitor, Frank Buttimer, said his client had been in the psychiatric unit of a hospital after he lost his job a fortnight ago but he was released on Saturday as a result of his own behaviour.

Mr Savage said he would not do anything like what was alleged in relation to him on Sunday if he was granted bail by the court and all he wanted was to get his medication from his GP.

Mr Buttimer said that he was not entering a plea of guilty but what had been alleged against Mr Savage was a “some kind of bizarre cry for help” and he wanted to get back into a psychiatric unit.

Judge Olann Kelleher noted the garda objection to bail and the concerns gardaí had in relation to what were serious charges.

He remanded Mr Savage in custody appear again on December 22nd.