Convict ‘had overwhelming urge to attack blue uniform’

A CONVICTED murderer who got an ‘overwhelming urge to attack a blue uniform’ has received a two-and-ahalf-year sentence for assaulting a prison officer while in jail.

Garda John Costigan accepted that Brian Willoughby, 40, convicted in 2003 of beating a man to death, has been on psychiatric medication since his incarceration 18 years ago for this and other offences.

The garda accepted the suggestion from Patrick Reynolds BL, defending, that his client had given in to ‘an overwhelming urge to attack a blue uniform’ on the date in question.

Willoughby, with a previous address at Orwell Park Drive, Templeogue, Dublin, is serving a life sentence. He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting the injured party causing him harm at Mountjoy Prison on December 31 last year.

Willoughby’s four previous convictions include murder in 2003, two assaults from 2000 and another assault in a courtroom in 2017.

Garda Costigan told Maddie Grant BL, prosecuting, that the prison officer was supervising inmates during lunchtime when he felt punches to the back of his head. Turning around, he saw it was Willoughby and radioed for assistance.

The garda said the injured party was off work for two months and sustained soft tissue damage to his neck, shoulder and head.

Garda Costigan agreed with Mr Reynolds that the prison officer had reported seeing Willoughby hours before the assault and had described him as ‘relaxed’, not aggressive.

Mr Reynolds submitted to Judge Melanie Greally that his client had twice-weekly visits from a psychiatric team and was on heavy medication. Judge Greally said an aggravating factor in this case was that Willoughby had a history of extreme violence and attacked an active member of the Irish Prison Service.

She imposed the sentence of twoand-a-half years concurrent to Willoughby’s life term, giving him credit for his early guilty plea.