Dundalk Court: Man involved in attack on train passenger
Man admitted being involved in an attack on another passenger on the Dublin Belfast Enterprise service
A 35 year old man who admitted being involved in an attack on another passenger, whose girlfriend had asked him and his then partner to quieten down on the Dublin Belfast Enterprise service, was given a suspended sentence at Dundalk Circuit Court last week.
Aidan Connolly of Claremont Crescent, Glasnevin, Dublin 11 and originally from Drimnagh, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm, at Clarke Railway Station, Dundalk on September 13th 2020.
The victim and his girlfriend had got up, as she was getting off the Belfast to Dublin service in Dundalk and when she told the men there was no need to be so loud, that there were other people on board, they verbally abused her and then turned on her partner, when he told them not to call her names.
The man was struck on the head with an old-style vape by the defendant’s then partner, and he also suffered a cut to his left eyebrow during the assault.
Both men were arrested a distance from the train station and the victim, in his impact statement read to the court said he finds it very hard to take any public transport and has not been on a train since the incident.
The Defence barrister said his client was a bar supervisor but returned to education to become an addiction counsellor and is a second year student at DCU.
He added the incident happened during the easing of Covid restrictions, and people may have lost the run of themselves, and stressed it is not Mr Connolly’s form to act in this way.
The court heard the victim had previously accepted an offer of €5,000 from the 35 year old.
Judge Dara Hayes said while the defendant might not have liked being told to quiet down it was an extraordinary over reaction to fight over it.
He suspended in full the 18 month sentence that he imposed, given it looks like it was a once-off incident and the defendant has not come to adverse attention since.