Son and daughter of prominent Irish publican jailed for 'vicious and unprovoked assault'
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Siblings Bill and Alison Chawke had both pleaded guilty in Limerick Circuit Court to assault causing harm to two men in November 2023, in Adare
SIBLINGS from a well-known publican family have both been jailed for assault causing harm to two men in Adare on a night out in November 2023.
Bill Chawke and Alison Chawke - son and daughter of Charlie Chawke, of Bill Chawke’s Bar in Adare, both pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to two men at Limerick Circuit Court.
In sentencing, today, Tuesday, Judge Fiona O’Sullivan named Bill Chawke as being “more culpable as the main instigator” while noting that his sister Alison reacted and did become involved.
Bill Chawke (31) of Merrion Street Upper, Dublin 2, was sentenced to two years and six months, with the final 12 months suspended for two years and six months on his own bond of €1,000 and the condition that he keep the peace and be of good behaviour.
Alison Chawke, aged 41, of The Beeches, Holywell, Goatstown, Dublin 14, was sentenced to two years and two months with the final 14 months suspended for two years and two months on her own bond of €1,000 and on the condition that she keep the peace and be of good behaviour.
Both siblings stood and turned towards the bench to hear the judge deliver her sentence. They both had their hands clasped in front of them.
Bill Chawke was wearing a dark coloured suit, white shirt and blue tie, while his sister was wearing a black tailored suit with a gold zip detail on the jacket.
The duo appeared stunned when the sentence was delivered with Alison Chawke miming “Am I going to jail?” to a loved one in the main body of the courtroom, as the siblings exchanged muted whispers to each other.
Judge O’Sullivan explained that she had reduced the headline sentences for both of them, in light of their early pleas, which saved the victims from a trial, the fact that compensation had been offered and accepted and that they were both first time offenders.
She also considered the impact that a custodial sentence would have particularly on Alison Chawke as a mother.
Judge O’Sullivan said: “The incident started in the bar and ended up in the lobby area and other patrons had to intervene. There was overwhelming evidence that Mr Bill Chawke was the aggressor.”
She added that the assault was “unprovoked and did have an element of ferocity.”
The judge described the assault as a “very unfortunate incident.”
She noted that the two victims were entitled to enjoy a quiet night out and now both are living with long-term effects from the events of the night of November 9, 2023 in the Dunraven Arms Hotel in Adare.
In mitigation, the judge noted that both of the Chawkes had not come to garda attention before or since the assault and they both had a good reputation associated with the family business.
At a previous evidence hearing in May of this year, the court heard that the two victims, men aged 54 and 55, were “quietly having a drink” when they observed Bill Chawke getting “mouthy and aggressive and he was loud,” one of the garda statements stated.
The court was told that Bill Chawke at one point said: “Have you got a staring problem?”
The court heard that Alison Chawke picked up and threw a glass, but it did not break.
She was kicking towards one of the victims at one point and the altercation became very physical in the bar and then lobby of the hotel.
Prosecuting for the State, Lily Buckley BL, instructed by State solicitor Brendan Gill, outlined that the victims’ evidence to gardaí stated that Alison Chawke was “loud and a bit messy” and “clearly intoxicated.”
She said that one of the victims felt fingers in his eyes and around his eye area, after he had been knocked to the ground.
One of the victims told gardaí: “I didn’t do anything to draw this vicious response.”
The court heard that Ms Chawke got involved and bit one of the victims on the left cheek with such force that she “locked on.”
The victim told gardaí: “I felt someone bite me, it happened very quickly.”
The man who was bitten on the cheek attended the VHI Swift Care Clinic and was given an anti-tetanus injection and steri-strips for the injury.
The other man attended the emergency department of University Hospital Limerick with facial injuries and a bruised and swollen eyelid.
The court heard that Ms Chawke initially didn’t tell gardaí her name, but disclosed her personal information at a later date, while her brother spoke to gardaí, apologised and left the hotel when asked to.
She admitted that initially she did not want her father to know what had happened.
The court heard victim impact statements from both men - one of them attended the evidence hearing, while both were seated at the back of the courtroom for the sentencing this Tuesday.
One man described fearing that his eyesight would be permanently affected and how there was a “distressing” time and a “period of uncertainty” where the extent of damage was not known.
He said that he found it embarrassing to have to explain his visible injuries to clients and members of his team at work.
“In the months that followed, I noticed a change in myself, I was more short tempered and irritable,” the statement said.
The man also suffered anxiety, sought counselling to process his emotions and had developed a “sense of unease in social environments.”
The other victim’s statement relayed that he still suffers from tinnitus in his left ear and that the injuries “continue to have a daily impact” on his life.
He now gets anxious in social situations and has higher stress levels and has been referred to a consultant who specialises in trauma.
Judge O’Sullivan noted that the assault appears to have been “out of character” for the siblings and that it “appears to have been a once-off incident.”