by Andrew Carey
A 24-YEAR old Limerick man has been jailed for eight years for a “savage and vicious” assault on a man who suffered catastrophic brain injuries and died 18 months later.
Patrick Phelan of Galvone Road was also given a further three year suspended jail sentence for a burglary committed while he was on bail for the assault.
Limerick Circuit heard that Thomas Ryan (61) formerly of The Fairgreen in Limerick was found lying on the ground unconscious in Kennedy Park at 3am on July 10, 2013, after he was repeatedly kicked and punched in the head and face by Phelan who admitted the assault after initially denying it.
Gardai arrested Phelan after harvesting evidence from CCTV systems. This showed him walking with Mr Ryan before the attack. Phelan, who was one of the people who contacted Gardaí had initially claimed he found Mr Ryan in an unconscious state.
However, forensic tests on Phelan’s runners found blood from the victim who who was left incapable of independent living after the attack.
Mr Ryan had been released from Roxboro Garda station where he was arrested for his own protection after Gardaí found him drunk.
Gardaí established from the custody record when Mr Ryan was in Roxboro Station that he had a gold watch and a satchel which were both missing when he was found unconscious.
Mr Ryan spent two months in hospital with a serious brain injury from which he never recovered and died in a nursing home on January 1, 2015 from medical complications including pneumonia.
His 82 year-old mother Rita suffered a massive stroke and died six months after her eldest son was assaulted.
Before jailing Phelan Judge Tom O’Donnell described it as a savage, viscous and unprovoked attack on a defenceless man which led to catastrophic injuries and the loss of any semblance of independent living for Mr Ryan.
He sentenced Patrick Phelan to eight years in prison on the assualt charge.
A further three year suspended sentence was imposed for a burglary on November 28, 2014 when he held a 64 year-old man to the ground and demanded money. He left empty-handed when the victim managed to activate his panic alarm and Phelan was arrested a short time later.
