Nenagh man faces community service for assault causing harm in 'unexplained attack'

A man who assaulted another man, causing him harm, had his case adjourned at Nenagh District Court to access if he is suitable to do community service.

Thomas Dooley, 24, of Lower Graigue, Kilruane, pleaded guilty to the offence on July 4 2021, at Silver Street, Nenagh.

Sgt Regina McCarthy told the court that gardaí went to the scene of a disturbance at 12.20am on the night in question.

An injured party at the scene told gardaí that Mr Dooley had hit him a number of times in “an unexplained attack”.

The victim sustained cuts to his lip and chin and had pain in the back of his shoulder as a result of the assault.

Sgt McCarthy submitted a report from ShannonDoc to Judge Elizabeth MacGrath outlining the injuries sustained by the victim.

She said Mr Dooley had 23 previous convictions, all under the Road Traffic Act.

Kenny Kerins, BL, for Mr Dooley, said his client had been sitting in the back of a car.

The assault arose when he was approached by his cousin who had told him he had been unfairly treated by another party, said Mr Kerins.

He saisd that a pub on the street had closed and a lot of young people were gathered on the street at the time. Mr Dooley had accepted that what he had done was completely wrong.

Mr Kerins said that Mr Dooley was a hard working man who had always been in gainful employment. What occurred was a "foolish incident".

Unfortunately, Mr Dooley had been subjected to a serious assault himself as a result of the incident, he said.

Mr Dooley had learned a very salutary lesson and had handed €1,000 to his solicitor, Pat Liston, to compensate his victim for the attack on him, said Mr Kerins.

The kind of incident that had unfolded happened in every town in Ireland on weekend nights. In the defendant’s case, his perception of reality had broken down and he acted in a criminal manner, which he accepted fully, he said.

Sgt McCarthy said issues arising from the assault were not completely resolved as there was another matter before the courts where Mr Dooley was the injured party

“I do not want to go into it so much,” Sgt McCarthy told the judge, who had asked her if there were any ongoing issues.

Noting that Mr Dooley had no previous convictions for assault, and that compensation had been handed into court for his victim, Judge MacGrath said she would consider a community service order for the defendant.

She adjourned the case to July 14 to see if he is a suitable candidate for community service.