Man (25) given suspended sentence following street brawl in Dundalk

A man who knocked another man out with a punch and continued to hit and kick him while he was on the ground during a street brawl, claimed he was acting in self-defence, when interviewed by gardaí, Dundalk Circuit Court heard last week.

Colm Bracken (25) of O'Hanlon Park, Dundalk pleaded guilty in May to an amended indictment of affray, after a jury had been sworn in for his trial.

The court heard last Tuesday how the defendant was involved in a brawl on the street on the Castletown Road, Dundalk in the early hours of July 18th 2021.

The victim, who had swelling and bruising to his face when he made a complaint to gardaí over a week later, was on his way home from socialising in Saltown, when he came across a group of men near Mullen's takeaway and he remembers waking up in Our Lady of Lourdes hospital where he was treated for a fractured right eye socket and other head injuries.

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CCTV footage showed the injured party, who had taken off his shirt, approached the defendant and threw the first punch  and at one point Colm Bracken had a bottle in his hand.

He knocked the man to the ground with a left hook to the head and then punched him six times as he lay there.

He also kicked him to the head before he was dragged away, the court heard.

The victim was unconscious for about three minutes.

When interviewed, the defendant denied being involved but said the man in the footage was acting in self defence saying "It's not me, but it's some knock out all the same".

The court heard Mr Bracken was involved in boxing as a youth and since then had three convictions for drug and theft offences, one of which pre-dated the incident.

The Defence barrister said his client was an accomplished footballer and has two young children with his partner and a number of character references were handed into the court.

He stressed that he didn't start the fight but acknowledged "He went over the top and above the law in terms of self-defence".

Judge Dara Hayes said he was told the defendant is not on the Garda radar and is keeping his head down and while a number of testimonials speak well of him and the good work he has done, "what he did on this occasion was the polar opposite of that”.

The judge said Colm Bracken's reaction was excessive by any measure but he noted the guilty plea was a valuable plea.

He said a sentence of two years and three months was appropriate, but given there has not been any further incident or anything of similar nature he seems to have significantly mended his way in the now four years since the incident.

Judge Hayes said it does not at this time require a custodial sentence and he suspended it in its entirety on the defendant entering a good behaviour bond.