The captain of a small sailing boat has been found guilty of operating a vessel while intoxicated, among a number of charges over an incident during the Dublin Port Riverfest in 2017.
Boat owner Brian Stacey (46) and Ronan Stephens (42), both from Crumlin, went on trial last summer over the incident on 1 June 2017 that prompted an early morning chase up the River Liffey from Dublin Port to Sir John Rogerson’s Quay.
The court heard that the skipper’s erratic driving of the 26ft quarter tonner Peja delayed the entry of the 4,000-tonne cruise liner Corinthian into the port.
Stephens was arrested after he made landfall at the city quays and stripped off his clothes, it was heard.
And the court also heard Stacey say it was his “God-given right to operate on the water” as he and his co-accused denied all charges, insisting there was no alcohol on their vessel.
Both will be sentenced next week. RTÉ News has much more on the story HERE.