€200 fine for man who stripped off for some naked sunbathing in Longford
A 57-year-old man has been fined €200 for sunbathing naked in County Longford on what he claims was the hottest day of the year.
Longford District Court heard that Glen Wrather was seen sunbathing in a communal area of an apartment complex in Ballymahon on July 6th.
He told his solicitor that it was 31 degrees on the day in question, one of the hottest days of the year so far.
The court heard that a woman who was putting clothes on her line had to pass him and saw that he was sunbathing face-down, naked and became upset.
She contacted her husband and he arrived at around 3.30pm and found Mr Wrather sunbathing on his back and reprimanded him.
The man's solicitor said her client had been wearing swimming trunks, which he had "inadvertently removed" and that there was no one around at the time.
The court heard that Mr Wrather - who is originally from Leeds in England - had been a naturist for 25 years.
Judge Seamus Hughes said that this was not Victorian Ireland and that he wasn't particularly shocked at the incident.
However, he told Mr Wrather, who was charged with exposing himself, that he had to appreciate that he could not do what he wanted to do in public places.
The judge imposed a fine of €200 to be paid within two months.
