Thurles District Court has ordered a probation report for a 19-year-old apprentice plumber who was involved in two violent incidents on New Year’s Eve and St Patrick’s Day last year.
Fabian Ryan (19) of Corralough, Cashel, Tipperary, was charged with affray at Hayes Hotel in Thurles on March 18, 2023, and assault causing harm on January 1, 2023, also at Hayes Hotel.
Mr Ryan pled guilty to the assault charge and contested the affray, which were two separate incidents.
Garda Anthony Seymour told Thurles District Court that in the early hours of March 18, 2023, he received a complaint about a matter at Hayes Hotel.
While investigating that complaint, he viewed the CCTV footage from the hotel and identified Mr Ryan holding another man in a headlock in a crowd.
While this was not what he was investigating, he did arrest and interview Mr Ryan.CCTV footage shown in court showed the defendant moving from the right, into the view of the camera, holding another individual, while a third man assaulted him.
A still from a second piece of footage showed the defendant entering the premises minutes before.
Garda Seymour read onto the record, the memorandum from the interview.
The defendant was a minor when the interview was done and accompanied by his mother.
In that memorandum, the defendant told gardaí he did not know the other men but that he was trying to pass them, and they were fighting.
One man was “swinging recklessly”, and Mr Ryan grabbed him.
Mr Ryan told gardaí he wasn’t aware the man was being assaulted until he was shown the CCTV.
The defendant admitted drinking at a house party before he went to the hotel and acknowledged he should not have grabbed the man.
“I shouldn’t have caught him by the head. I am sorry for that,” said Mr Ryan to the gardaí.
NO COMPLAINT
On cross-examination, the solicitor for the accused Colin Morrissey, confirmed for the court that there was no complaint against Mr Ryan.
He also asked the garda if the other two men had been identified, and he said they had not.
Mr Morrssey argued that the definition of affray as two or more people using or threatening to use unlawful violence against one another did not match what the court had seen on the CCTV.
He said there were a couple of “missing ingredients”.
Firstly, it was not his client using unlawful violence but the man using his knee against the man being held.
Secondly, any violence used by his client was not unlawful, as he was defending himself.
Finally, there was no complaint from an injured party and indeed no charge of assault.
Mr Morrissey submitted that there was, therefore, reasonable doubt and asked the court to act accordingly.
He said it was “completely unsafe” to convict the defendant of affray and further submitted that the DPP instructions were incorrect.
Acting for the prosecution, Inspector James White argued that only one act of violence had to be unlawful and that the CCTV, while a substantial part of the State’s case, it is not the only piece of evidence.
Insp White told the court that the defendant's comment that grabbed the other man because he “was swinging recklessly” and the CCTV showing two others acting violently together suggested affray.
He asked the court to consider the “totality of the evidence,” which shows the State had “exceeded the threshold for prosecution.”
ON THE STAND
Judge Mary Cashin asked the defendant to take the stand and explain in his words what had happened.
Mr Ryan told the court that he was outside in the smoking area and wanted to enter the bar through a narrow corridor, but there was a fight going on.
Someone told him to get out and when he tried to get past, he grabbed a man “swinging” and brought him with him into the bar area.
Insp White asked the defendant on cross-examination if he now thought this was the right thing to do.
“It wasn’t the best course of action,” replied Mr Ryan.
“I would suggest your reaction was over the top and went past what could be considered self-defence, and it was unlawful,” said Insp White.
Judge Cashin asked the defendant if he would act this way now in the same circ*mstances, and the defendant answered no.
JUDGEMENT
Judge Cashin said she was satisfied the case for affray had been made.
Mr Morrissey told the court his client was an apprentice plumber with no previous convictions and requested the court consider Restorative Justice.
But, Judge Cashin said she would be “slow” to consider the programme without a victim impact statement.She did order a probation report, and the matter was put back to November.
The defendant had also pleaded to assault causing harm on New Year’s Day at Hayes Hotel.
In that matter, the arresting guard had received a complaint from the victim who said he had been “set upon” by someone, but he didn’t know who.
He sustained injuries to his nose and face.
Judge Cashin said to the defendant:
“You are a young man, and you haven’t been in trouble previously, and I commend you for that because that is not easy these days, but you are before this court on very serious matters.”
She went on to say:
“He is a young man starting out in life. If I can refer him to Restorative Justice, I will.”
She asked the arresting garda to make enquiries about the programme for the next court date.
