A man has won undisclosed damages and a full apology from a Dublin firm of opticians which wrongly accused him of having stolen two pairs of glasses.
Mr Kenneth Fogarty, counsel for Mr Emmet McCrann, Elphin Street, Strokestown, Co Roscommon, told the Circuit Civil Court yesterday his client had his belongings searched by security men in public in Temple Bar, Dublin. Mr Fogarty said Mr McCrann had travelled to Dublin in June 1995 to collect prescription glasses from a Grafton Street optician. He and a friend then visited the Temple Bar shop of Mr Desmond Mackey, trading as Eye Con. They examined some sunglasses and left.
Afterwards they were apprehended on the street by two security men who told them two pairs of glasses had gone missing from the Eye Con shop and they wanted to search their bags. The search revealed Mr McCrann had only prescription glasses and receipts from the Grafton Street shop.