Judge tells attacker he’s ‘not at all happy’ following late night assault in Limerick town

A YOUNG man who punched another man in the face during a late-night incident has been placed on probation for a year.

Luke Ryan, aged 22, of Gurteen, Dromcollogher had admitted assaulting the other man causing him harm at the Square, Newcastle West in the early hours of February 9, 2018.

Inspector Liam McGraynor told the local court the incident, which was captured on CCTV, happened at around 2.30am and that Mr Ryan made full admissions when interviewed by gardai.

The victim, who was also kicked when he was knocked to the ground sustained severe bruising around the eyes but has made a good recovery.

Insp McGraynor added that he had declined the opportunity to prepare a victim impact statement for the court when asked.

Compensation of €500 has been paid and during a previous hearing, solicitor John Lynch said a number of people were involved in the “skirmish”.

He added that his client “did not inflict all of the injuries”.

He said the apprentice welder, who has two minor road traffic convictions had a “problem with addiction” around the time and he urged the court to note that the incident occurred more than three years ago.

Judge Patrick Durcan said he was “not at all happy with what happened” but he accepted Mr Ryan is at a low-risk of offending.

The judge also accepted the defendant was not the sole perpetrator but said he had “joined in” and that he had contributed to the injuries which were inflicted.

Having noted the contents of a probation report and given the submissions of Mr Lynch the judge said he would not impose a prison sentence in the case “against my better judgment”.

Accordingly, he placed the defendant on probation for 12 months.