Family armed with sickle, hurls and baton spared jail

A FATHER-OF-EIGHT and several members of his family, who turned up at a rival family’s home armed with a hook, two hurls and a baton have avoided jail.

Judge Martin Nolan said a ‘large fight’ between two neighbouring families in Clondalkin, Dublin, was a ‘disgrace’ and a ‘distasteful affair’.

Members of the McDonagh family ‘initiated the attack’ on the O’Reillys when they arrived at their home armed with a sickle, two hurls and a baton, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard.

The incident happened after words were exchanged between members of the two families at a local shopping centre.

Father-of-eight Martin McDonagh Snr, 49, had drank whiskey on the morning of the incident on November 19, 2016.

He and his wife Ellen McDonagh, 45, their daughters Nora McDonagh, 20, and Helen McDonagh, 19, and daughter-in-law Shannon Sherlock, 20, pleaded guilty to violent disorder at Old Castle Drive, Clondalkin.

The judge imposed two-year suspended sentences on each of the women and a four-year suspended sentence on Martin McDonagh Snr whom he said had a ‘remarkably modest record’.

The court heard that Martin McDonagh Snr has 13 previous convictions, mostly for road traffic matters, and none of the women had any previous convictions.

Having viewed the CCTV footage, Judge Nolan said there was a ‘large amount of attempts’ by the McDonaghs to hit the O’Reilly family but no serious injuries were inflicted. He noted people could have been injured and added: ‘People need to learn to control themselves and it is not a good idea to be drinking whiskey early in the morning.’