Man jailed for assault on partner

A man from Dublin received a two-year prison sentence at a recent sitting of Wexford Circuit Criminal Court arising out of an assault he committed on September 21, 2014, at an apartment in Anne Street, Wexford.

Daniel Corrigan, 33 Sycamore Avenue, Carpenterstown, Castleknock, Dublin 15, appeared before Judge Cormac Quinn at Wexford Court House.

The judge heard that a plea was entered to a charge of ‘assault causing harm’ in January, 2020, and that prior to that the investigating garda had searched for Corrigan who had been homeless and living in hostels.

‘I walked the streets of Dublin looking for him and eventually found him in an abandoned house,’ the garda told the judge.

The judge heard that a number of bench warrants had issued relating to the defendant after he failed to appear at various court sittings.

In hearing the facts of the case Judge Quinn was told that on the date in question the injured party in the matter had herself been found in an intoxicated state at 2.20 a.m. at Commercial Quay, Wexford, around 300 yards from her apartment.

‘She was arrested for public order offences,’ said the garda.

The court heard the woman was later taken to Wexford General Hospital but she discharged herself and made her way back to the flat.

At around 6 a.m. that morning the gardai received a call relating to an alleged assault and when they arrived there was blood in the vicinity of the flat.

The garda said the injured party was in the flat and she had a facial injury that she didn’t have earlier.

‘There was four hours between when I first observed her and the second time, when I entered her apartment,’ said the garda.

The judge heard there was bruising to her eyes, nose and mouth and there was a bite mark on her neck.

He also heard the injured party couldn’t recollect anything about the night up to the point she was assaulted but had clear recollection of that.

The garda said that Corrigan had gone to the Garda Station after his partner was arrested and having been told she was in hospital and begun to make his way there.

However, he decided to return to the flat and when he arrived, there was another male present and a fight ensued.

The judge heard the other male ran away and Corrigan then went back upstairs.

The garda said the injured party in the assault case was very nervous and was grateful that a plea had been entered.

‘She said that from the dock Mr Corrigan said he was sorry,’ said the garda.

‘She did not want to make a victim impact statement,’ he added.

While Corrigan had a large number of previous convictions he had none for assault.

The judge heard Corrigan’s parents had split up and that his father was a heroin addict who lived on the streets and that while visiting him Corrigan himself developed addiction issues.

However, his brother and sister, from his mother’s new relationship had tried to help him as much as they could - as did his step-father.

Defence barrister, Philip Sheahan BL, said that prior to this incident his client had no previous convictions for a crime of violence.

He said there were peculiar circumstances surrounding the matter and how it occurred.

He also added his client was 24 at the time of the incident.

‘Mr Corrigan accepts that in some form he caused the injuries,’said Mr Sheahan.

‘All of the injuries were soft tissue,’ he added.

He also told the judge that his client was in custody since August 19, 2019, in relation to another matter and that there is a matter pending before the Circuit Court in Dublin.

The judge also heard Corrigan received a lot of support from his step-father but he was unable to attend court that day because he was caring for his elderly mother.

Me Sheahan said his client appeared to be ‘well motivated to address his addiction issues’.

In his summary Judge Quinn acknowledged the guilty plea and briefly outlined the summary of the facts as presented to him by the investigating garda.

He noted the fact the injured party had a poor recollection of events up to the point she was assaulted but a clear recollection of the assault.

‘The accused said he saw another man in the apartment and had a fight with the man and that the injuries to the injured party were as a result of the crossfire,’ noted the judge. He also said intoxication was a factor in the case and noted that Corrigan had apologised.

Judge Quinn noted the injured party had made a full physical recovery but on the night in question had been unable to defend herself.

The judge took into account ‘the age of the accused and his personal circumstances’ and that he accepted he caused the injuries to the injured party.

He sentenced Corrigan to two years but suspended the final six months, for 12 months, on Corrigan’s own bail of €600.

He also backdated the sentence to December 19, 2019.