A man who head butted a garda trying to arrest him for drunkenly driving into parked cars after a date with a woman he met online went wrong has been jailed for 21 months.

Christopher Morrissey (29) had got a taxi back from a pub with his date and they were sitting in his own car outside his home chatting for a time before he went into the house to get something.

His then partner came out of the house and shouted at the woman that she was his girlfriend.

Morrissey, who was disqualified from driving, tried to turn the car around but instead collided with the other vehicles. He later head butted a garda as he was being put into a squad car causing an injury to the man's mouth and damage to his teeth.

Morrissey, of Howth Road, Clontarf, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting Garda Kevin Gaynor causing him harm, resisting arrest, refusing to give a sample of blood or urine, intoxication in a public place, breach of the peace and driving without insurance in Clontarf in the early hours of October 4, 2014.

The court heard Morrissey, who has 60 previous convictions, had been disqualified from driving a number of times. Most recently he was disqualified for periods of 12 and 15 years in 2011.

Judge Martin Nolan said Morrissey had demonstrated a “cavalier attitude towards the road traffic code.” He said he was unable to consider a non-custodial sentence due to his record and the seriousness of the offences.

Judge Nolan imposed a 21 month sentence and disqualified Morrissey from driving for five years.

Fiona Murphy BL, defending, said Morrissey had been extremely intoxicated and from the moment he woke up the next morning accepted he was 100% wrong and expressed his apologies.

She said he has been “distraught” over the way he treated his now ex-girlfriend and the gardai.

Counsel said Morrissey had a difficult childhood which lead to trouble with the gardai but had turned his life around gaining employment as a handyman and on a milk run.

She asked the court to take the view that Morrissey had made a very serious mistake and consider a non-custodial option.