Hit sister with glass at Abbeyleix wedding

A wedding guest who threw a glass that hit his sister over the eye appeared before Portlaoise District Court. 

Kevin Heffernan, 48, of 77 Magenta Hall, Santry, Dublin 9 was accused of assault causing harm at the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel on June 25, 2022. 

Suzanne Dooner BL said her client was entering a guilty plea on the basis of recklessness. 

Garda Darren Digan told the court he responded to a call from the hotel at 5am. He said a wedding was taking place and Martina Byrne was being treated in an ambulance for a cut over her eye. 

She told Garda Digan that she had an argument with her brother and he “threw a glass that hit her over her left eye”. He said both parties were intoxicated. 

Ms Dooner explained that “a verbal disagreement” had taken place and a glass was thrown that “hit a table and ultimately hit the injured party”. She said her client had been offered an adult caution by Gardai at the time but had declined as he didn’t have legal advice and he believed “provocation was a defence”.

“Had he the benefit of legal advice he might have taken that caution,” she said. 

She said the argument arose when the defendant complained about people drug dealing outside his house. 

The injured party had warned him “he would get a bullet in the back of the head” or have his house burned down if he told gardai about the activity. 

The injured party said she was taken to hospital as a result of the incident. She had to get paper stitches over her eye and was told not to wash the wound for five days. 

“The scar is still there. It is after lightening up but it is a different tone,” she said. 

Ms Dooner said her client worked in construction and had brought €300 to court. 

“This seems to be very much out of character for this gentleman,” she told Judge Nicola Andrews. 

Judge Andrews agreed and ordered that the €300 be donated to the court poor box. 

“It would seem to me it was an incident that was out of character,” she said as she struck the case out.