Assault in Mayo town laneway left man with 25cm cut on his neck

A GALWAY man who assaulted a man he had been drinking with during the day, resulting in him receiving a 25cm cut to his neck, has been jailed for three and a half years.

Eddie Cleary (25) of Headford Road, Galway appeared before Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court where he was sentenced after he was convicted of assault causing harm to Michael McDonagh at Riverside, Ballyhaunis on September 4, 2020.

The court heard that the two men had been drinking together in Ballyhaunis and CCTV footage from the town showed them entering a takeaway at 9.45pm.

Garda Ferghal O'Caheny explained that the footage showed an exchange between the two parties before leaving and going down Bridge Street.

While on Bridge Street, the two men are seen on opposite sides of the footpath before meeting in the middle of the roadway where an assault takes place.

Garda O'Caheny said the two men then went through a laneway called Riverside at 10.26pm and camera footage from the rear of the laneway showed Mr Cleary running from it followed by Mr McDonagh.

Stitches

The court heard that Mr McDonagh had wounds to his neck area and he later received treatment in Mayo University Hospital. The injury to his neck was 25 to 30cm in length which required 15 stitches while the injury to his forehead was 8cm in length and required seven stitches.

Garda O'Caheny explained that Mr McDonagh of Carramore, Knock died on November 16, 2020 as a result of a homicide. In a victim impact statement, his mother, Winnie McDonagh said her son was depressed after the incident and would comment that he was scarred for life.

Mr Cleary has 14 previous convictions and is currently serving a three and a half year sentence for assault causing harm in which another man suffered cuts to his face. Judge Eoin Garavan was informed that Mr Cleary was on bail for this offence when he assaulted Mr McDonagh and as a result any sentence will have to be consecutive with the sentence he is currently serving.

Mr Niall Flynn, counsel for Mr Cleary said his client accepted the verdict of a jury which convicted him of the assault. He added he was 21 at the time of the offence and was now genuinely remorseful for what occurred. He said a significant amount of alcohol was taken by both parties and without alcohol he described his client as a totally different person.

Garda O'Caheny told Judge Garavan that there was no evidence of what weapon may have been used and no item was recovered at the scene.

Mr Flynn said his client has a sum of €2,000 as a token of his remorse to give to the family of Mr McDonagh.

Counselling

He stated that he is attending courses and counselling while in prison and asked Judge Garavan to take this into account when sentencing his client.

Judge Garavan said this was an unusual trial in that there was no victim to give evidence and no weapon recovered but commended Garda O'Caheny for his investigation which allowed the jury to convict.

He described the injuries to Mr McDonagh as extraordinary and he was fortunate for Mr Cleary that the wound was not deep or he would be facing a longer sentence.

Judge Garavan said that Mr Cleary did not come to the aid of Mr McDonagh on the night and he had a miserable few weeks before his untimely death.

He said there were not many mitigating factors in the case given that Mr Cleary was on bail for a similar 'sinister' assault and he had not learned his lesson.

Judge Garavan imposed a sentence of four and a half years with the final year suspended for a period of two years. The sentence he said will commence on July 1, 2026.

Judge Garavan expressed his condolences to the McDonagh family on their loss and was later informed that they wished to donate the €2,000 to Temple Street Children's Hospital.