Local teen gets five years sentence for Kildare manslaughter
There was a scuffle on a bus prior to the assault that led to the death
A Kildare town teenager has been given a five years custody term at Naas Circuit Court, following the death of a man less than a year ago.
19 year old Ryan Murphy, whose address was given as Curragh Plains, Kildare town, admitted the unlawful killing of Ryan Weir Gibbons, who died on October 30 last, following an assault in the Magee Terrace area, near the local garda station.
Mr Weir Gibbons sustained a traumatic head injury after falling to the ground after he had been punched.
The defendant, who was 18 at the time, had no garda history and had not come to the attention of the gardaí previously.
He was a third level student and a rugby player.
Reviewing the evidence Judge Elva Duffy said the incident took place on Friday into Saturday and CCTV images showed the deceased on a bus on his own from Naas and the defendant’s group got on to the vehicle in Newbridge.
There was noise on the bus and the deceased turned around to give out about this and the defendant said “I’ll smash your head in.”
The defendant was shouting and approached the deceased.
A scuffle followed and people on the bus tried to break it up including people with the defendant, as did the bus driver.
Two or three lads on the bus told the defendant to cop on and the deceased sat at the top of the bus for the rest of the journey. The deceased made a comment and the defendant became agitated and shouted at him.
After the bus stopped the defendant was making his way back “to try to find” the deceased and a friend was trying to tell him to calm down.
The parties met at a roadway and the defendant said “do you know who I am” and was deeply agitated.
The deceased had his hands up and was trying to calm the situation.
Judge Duffy noted the deceased swung a punch because things were not calming down.
The defendant then struck him and his mead met the ground. Two individuals went to the garda station. Gardaí arrived and two ambulances attended.
Judge Duffy said she accepted the defendant will live with regret for the rest of his life and “he is distressed about the chain of events he was involved in.”
The judge added that people who know him struggle to reconcile the person with his actions on the knight.
But his actions were devastating and he made it clear he was up for a fight.”
The judge said the five year term took account of the defendant's remorse, his lack of previous convictions and his plea.