Man struck by a “flurry” of punches had his jaw broken in two places on a night out
A SLIGO man out celebrating a friend’s engagement had his jaw broken in two places by a bouncer who hit him with “a flurry” of punches. The security man, a trained boxer and martial arts fighter, who had competed in up to 70 boxing bouts, was charged with assault following the incident.
Barry Kennedy (27), of Castlecawley, Achonry, Co Sligo, was charged with assaulting Seamus Taheny at the Garavogue bar in the early hours of March 9, 2019. Kennedy, now living in Cork, claimed he had acted in self-defence.
Kennedy had initially pleaded guilty to the offence at a November 2021 sitting of Sligo Circuit Court.
The matter was put back to last week’s sitting of Sligo Circuit Court to allow the defendant, who was unemployed, to gather compensation to his victim. Kennedy came to court with an offer of €5,000, but this was rejected as insufficient by the victim.
The court heard a group of between 15 and 20 friends were out celebrating a friend’s engagement in various pubs when a fight broke out in the Garavogue bar.
The victim, who was not present in court, had said he remembered a fight breaking out and ending up on the floor however, he had no recollection of the night after this point. After Taheny got home, he went to bed and awoke the following morning with significant pain on both sides of his jaw. There was also a laceration to his face.
He attended the A&E department at Sligo University Hospital where he was x-rayed, and it was established his jaw was broken in two places. He was referred to Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry for further examination and underwent
surgery the following day.
Two plates were fixed to either side of his jaw with screws and he lost a wisdom tooth. He was prescribed pain medication and could only consume liquids and painkillers. He was discharged on March 13, 2019.
Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions, Leo Mulrooney BL referred to the statement made by one of the group, Conan Reynolds who said the bar person had shortchanged him and he had an argument with her. A bouncer got involved and Taheny came over to help him. He said a bouncer wearing a white shirt hit Taheny with a closed fist four times. Mr Mulrooney also referenced Marie Corrigan’s statement.
She recollected Reynolds not being served at the bar, words being exchanged and telling him to apologise. She said the security personnel tried to escort him out and he was un-cooperative. She said she then saw a bouncer punch Taheny four or five times with a closed fist. He didn’t try to defend himself and fell to the ground.
She subsequently made complaints to the establishment. The court also heard Taheny came to Sligo Garda Station afterwards to make a complaint.
Garda Emma Logue secured the CCCTV footage from the nightclub and identified Kennedy as a suspect. He was met by arraignment and then arrested and charged on January 7, 2020, at Ballymote Garda Station.
CCTV footage for the incident was played in court which showed Kennedy delivering eight punches to Taheny with a closed fist.
A book of photographs taken by a garda on March 15, 2019, of the victim’s injuries was also presented in court.
The court heard the victim had been studying online for an engineering degree but had to defer his studies because of the trauma he suffered.
He was unable to attend his brother-in-law’s funeral the week after the incident due to the injuries to his jaws, mouth, earlobes, and eyes.
He had to eat and drink through a straw for six weeks following the incident. He was unable to keep up his regular physical training of twice a week.
He was socially apprehensive, didn’t go out anymore and was always looking around him. He could never have an MRI scan again because of the plates and screws inserted in his jaw.
The court also heard how his partner was affected. She had to take time off work to attend appointments with him and help him during his six-week recovery period.
In relation to the financial offer of €5,000, the victim saw it as a token of remorse but was unable to accept it as it wasn’t enough.
The estimated total economic cost to him was €10,792 consisting of medical, travel and time off work costs.
A medical report from Sligo University Hospital as well as one from the facial surgery team at Altnaglevin Hospital in Derry were also offered as evidence in the case.
Defence counsel, Mr Keith O’Grady BL, said his client lived on a farm in Achonry with his parents where he helped with the horses and cattle. He had never been in a fight before, had no previous convictions and described himself as the “most peaceful man you could meet”.
He said he made detailed admissions to gardaí in relation regarding his level of fitness and training. He was into boxing since 2010 and had competed in 70 fights. He was also qualified in jujutsu, muay thai and mixed martial arts. Furthermore, he had completed a five-day course in door security licence training in 2019.
In Kennedy’s statement to gardaí, he said there were three or four bouncers working on the night.
They came across a stag do or party who were not a nice bunch in his opinion, and they tried to calm them down. He and other bouncers tried to remove a “big 20-stone man” via the fire exit and the situation was getting worse; he described it as “the worst ever”.
He said as he tried to exit out in front of him, the man got very aggressive. When he pushed him away, he came at him “like a bull” with his left hand around him and his right hand cocked.
Kennedy said, “I was thinking it was him or me” and let off a “flurry” of punches. He was big so he figured one punch from him and he would have been done for.
He recalled being in a tangle and falling at one stage. He said he had two options – either stand there and defend himself or they were going to end up at the bottom of the stairs.
The court heard when Kennedy was shown the CCTV footage of the night, he admitted to “landing some punches” and said “when you are in danger, you don’t think straight you just have to survive”.
Gda Logue said she believed it was a volatile situation and agreed “a certain level of force” had to be used but questioned was the level used appropriate. In his summation, Mr O’Grady said the fact his client made a guilty plea when charged in May 2020 meant there was no jury trial.
He had been given time to assemble compensation for the victim although he wasn’t a “person of means” as he worked in the security industry and was in full-time training. He had put together the money from his social welfare savings and with the help of his mother. Mr O’Grady also stressed the probation officer assessed him as being of low risk of re-offending and he was not somebody expected to be seen in court again. He said gardaí also concurred with the report - there were no issues for them, and they had a good relationship with Kennedy.
He said his client had made a full acceptance that the level of force he adopted went beyond the level required.
He said he was cognisant of the hazardous situation at the top of the stairs and wanted to help prevent anyone falling downstairs as alcohol had been consumed. The aggravating factor in the case was he was trained in force.
Mr O’Grady said the apprehension of his client was “entirely appropriate” and the explanation he proffered was borne out by the CCTV footage evidence.
He said there was no pre-meditation nor weapon involved. He said Kennedy had not consumed alcohol or drugs on the night nor had he ever, and there were no mental health issues. He said he was highly trained. He had demonstrated remorse and it was his first time in court. He said there were no areas of concern overall and questioned what purpose custody would serve.
Judge Catherine Staines said she had seen from the CCTV footage a highly volatile situation where Conan Reynolds had been in dispute with the bar and Seamus Taheny came to assist. The assault was at the high end of the scale and the headline indicator was four years imprisonment.
She said she had heard the aggravating factors and the victim’s list of injuries; however, with Kennedy’s security training he should have been able to disable Taheny with not much force.
She said the mitigating factors were that the accused had made a full admission, had no previous convictions and some level of force was necessary. He also had fully co-operated with the probation service and confirmed he was truly remorseful. Furthermore, he had come up with an offer of €5,000 compensation for the victim.
The judge imposed a threeyear suspended sentence on condition he paid another €3,000 in compensation to the victim within 12 months. The €5,000 already pledged was to be paid in court.
Mr O’Grady confirmed his client would come up with that and Kennedy signed his own bail bond of €100.