Waterford man punched acquaintance for talking to his ex-girlfriend
Waterford Courthouse
A Ferrybank man has been given a suspended sentence at Waterford District Court for an unprovoked attack on another man who was talking to his ex-girlfriend.
Shane Egan (20), of 5 Barkley Drive, The Beeches, Ferrybank, Waterford, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm on November 15, 2024, at Irish's Bar, Ballykeoghan, Kilmacow.
Sergeant Michael Hickey told the court that at around 11pm on the night of the incident, the injured party was sitting on a wall outside the bar, talking to the defendant’s ex-girlfriend.
The defendant approached him and punched him in the face, knocking him off the four-and-a-half-foot wall onto rocks along the railway line.
The injured party sustained a black eye, a chipped tooth and a concussion.
Sgt Hickey told the court that the defendant had no previous convictions.
Acting for the defendant, solicitor Ken Cunningham said that his client had drunk too much alcohol, starting out in the afternoon and decided to “take out his anguish” on the injured party.
He said Mr Egan had no recollection of the incident but accepts responsibility.
Mr Cunningham said his client has no issue with the injured party, who he knows and described as “sound as a pound”.
The defendant wrote an apology letter in which he said that he wished to extend his “deepest apologies” and that he regretted “losing control and letting his anger take over”.
The solicitor said that his client now works in construction and always comes to court with the support of friends and family.
The cost of the injured party’s dental costs was €1,700, and the compensation brought to court by the defendant should cover all costs.
Judge Cephas Power said that this was a “typical case” that was “arising all too often in the courts”.
The judge called the attack “unprovoked and vicious”, and the defendant was “very lucky” that the injured party was not very seriously injured.
Nevertheless, the man’s victim impact statement detailed resulting issues with his well-being and mental health, in addition to the concussion and dental damage.
However, the judge said he was impressed with the defendant's “insight into the offence”, the remorse he had shown and called the incident “simply a drunken episode”.
The judge also noted that the defendant cooperated fully with the gardaí.
He directed the compensation to be paid to the injured party and said that while “it was not sufficient”, he acknowledged the defendant had to work hard to raise it.
The judge said the offence was in the mid to upper range for the district court and imposed a three-month prison sentence.
However, considering the mitigating factors, the judge suspended it for 12 months.
“I’m sure we won’t see him here again. It has been a very valuable lesson, and I wish him well,” said Judge Power.
