A performer narrowly escaped a prison sentence for causing a commotion in a Dublin hospital on the same day as his unsuccessful pursuit of a €12 million legal case against rock band U2, wherein he insisted that he was the author of one of their tracks. Maurice Kiely, aged 62, confessed to the Dublin District Court on a Monday that he had used intimidating, offensive, and derogatory language or gestures at St James’s Hospital on April 19th.
This kind of behaviour could normally lead to a quarter-year jail term, nevertheless, Kiely was just hit with a €200 fine as he exited the courtroom. Judge Treasa Kelly was informed that the police were notified as Kiely was due to be released from the hospital, whereupon he “turned hostile towards the staff” within the ward.
Despite this, Kiely stood his ground and kept up his aggressive demeanour all the way to his arrest. A charge related to refusal to act on a police officer’s request to depart the area was later dropped.
Kiely, who represented himself, presented his case, arguing that he was referred to the hospital by his general practitioner after suffering from life-threatening deep vein thrombosis. He further alleged that the hospital declined to operate on him which made him fear for his life.
Standing on crutches, Kiely informed the judge he wished to propose a “grave criminal negligence” case against the hospital. He added that if the clot in his veins detached and travelled to his lungs, the results could be lethal.
It came to Judge Kelly’s attention that Kiely had a history of eight convictions for public disorder offences leading to various fines. The judge admonished him for his conduct, reminding him that there were other patients within the hospital who required care, and his actions were inappropriate for the setting.
In light of his confession, Judge Kelly waived a jail sentence but issued a fine that had to be paid off within a four-month timeframe. This was on the same day as Kiely’s unsuccessful lawsuit against U2 Ltd, a company associated with the band – he claimed he composed the song ‘A Man and A Woman’ in 1998.
The claim that he had initially created it for American supermodel Cindy Crawford, but subsequently the group recorded it for their 11th production, ‘How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb’ in the year 2004, was put forth by him. Nonetheless, U2 Ltd rejected his allegations, contending that Bono- or Paul Hewson as he is otherwise named- was the true author of the song’s words and the entire band, comprising four members, had composed the music together. On the 19th of April, the whole case was dismissed by Mr Justice Mark Sanfey.