Son attacked ill mother (79) in her home, court is told

A MAN hospitalised his 79-year-old mother, who suffers from emphysema, following an assault at her home, a court has been told.

At Ennis District Court, Judge Patrick Durcan deemed the case against Fergus Geoghegan (39) to be too serious to be heard in the district court after hearing an outline of the case from the prosecution.

As a result, Mr Geoghegan, of Tobin’s B&B, Ballinooskey, Newmarket-on-Fergus, Co Clare, faces sterner penalties if convicted of assault causing harm to Katherine Geoghegan at Rossbracken, Shannon, on July 27 last.

In the district court, those convicted of assault causing harm face a maximum sentence of 12 months, and in the circuit court a maximum sentence of five years on conviction applies.

Judge Durcan said he was declining that the case be heard in the district court because of the “seriously aggravating factor” in the case “where the alleged assault was perpetrated on someone with a tender frame”.

“The victim of this alleged assault was nearly 80 years of age and had emphysema,” he said.

In evidence, Det Garda Paul Coleman said that it was his view that the assault was marginally over the more minor section two assault category.

Judge Durcan said that he would decline jurisdiction and remanded Mr Geoghegan on bail to February 21 for the serving of a book of evidence.