A 23-year-old man pleaded guilty at Limerick District Court to an assault on O’Connell Street, in the early hours of July 9 last.
Entering a plea of guilty, Dean Barry of 24 Garryglass Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston, was said to have run up O’Connell Street at 3:10am on the date in question where Garda Pat Ahearne observed him strike another in the back of the head.
The garda on patrol apprehended the accused and arrested him. During arrest, he resisted and had to be restrained, having made attempts to escape.
Barry, it was said, was highly abusive and “violent” during his detention at Henry Street Garda Station.
Judge Tom O’Donnell was told that Barry had previous convictions, and they included Public Order Offences in July of this year, at Clonmel District Court; burglary, assault and false imprisonment charges at the Central Criminal Court, where he received three sentences of three, four and nine years in 2004.
Arising out of the incident on July 9 last, the accused also faced public order charges for his “violent outburst in the garda station”. Barry was alleged to have headbutted a door and was re-arrested and restrained after his initial release.
Ted McCarthy solicitor, said that the “one drama had two separate acts,” and that his client apologised. He added that it was his instruction that his client had been assaulted earlier on in the night and garda evidence confirmed that he had signs of “congealed blood on his mouth”.
Mr McCarthy added the second incident occurred as his client was under the belief that the gardai still had some property which belonged to him.
However, the accused later acceded to the fact that the property was not in the possession of the gardai at Henry Street, and that he had, in fact, left the items at home.
The court heard that Barry had just been released from a “lengthy sentence in recent months,” and that all was “not well” with him since his release.
Adding in mitigation for Barry, Mr McCarthy said that concerted efforts were made to relocate his client to Dublin so that he could benefit from the necessary services and to engage with the probation services.
Judge O’Donnell, prior to agreeing to the request, noted the seriousness of the assault and the aggressive episode that followed, and commented that the gardai had a difficult enough task as it was without having to “deal with the accused in the manner in which he acted”.
The case was adjourned until October 28 next for the probation services to furnish the court with a report, and with Judge O’Donnell issuing a warning that if he was found to be in trouble between this and then, that the court would proceed straight to sentence.
