A member of the public is believed to have paid a €200 fine incurred by a great-grandmother over a dog she claims she did not own and which has since been put down.
Mrs Kitty Moloney (77) from Garryowen in Limerick was due to start a five-day prison sentence today over the non-payment of the fine.
A spokesman for the Garda told ireland.comthey had received a number of offers from members of the public to pay the fine.
Mrs Moloney was fined €200 earlier this year for not having a licence for the dog and failing to keep it under control.
A warrant was issued for her arrest when it was not paid. Mrs Moloney claims she did not own the dog, saying it belonged to a neighbour who has since died.
Mrs Moloney, a widow, is a mother of 15, a grandmother of 39 and great-grandmother of 26.
Her family said Mrs Moloney was ill and had even packed asthma inhalers in advance of her incarceration. It would have been the great-grandmother's first night away from home in years.
Speaking on RTÉ radio this afternoon, Mrs Moloney's daughter Mary said the dog had been put down.
"My mother wouldn't pay the fine, she had no licence and so the pound came and took the dog. They were prepared to put my mother in prison over a dead dog."