Hospital porter sustained black eye in assault outside pub in Limerick village

A FATHER-of-three has apologised after he carried out an “unprovoked assault” outside a pub in County Limerick.

At Limerick Circuit Court, Bobby Harty, aged 36, of Condell Road, Limerick city, pleaded guilty to one count of assault causing harm and one count of criminal damage.

Prosecuting barrister John O’Sullivan, who outlined the evidence to the court said that on the night of June 17, 2023, the injured party went to the Dark Horse Pub in Patrickswell and had “two or three pints”.

The 40-year-old, who works as a hospital porter, then went to Punch’s Pub, where he had another pint before leaving at approximately 1.20am.

The court heard that he had headphones on and was listening to music as he stepped out of the pub.

After taking a few steps, he heard a shout of “hey you” from behind and when he turned around, he was punched in the face by Mr Harty. The accused then grabbed his headphones and hit him on the side of the head.

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He subsequently took his headphones, which were worth €500, and broke them off a landpost.

After walking home, the injured party rang 999 and reported the incident to An Garda Síochána.

His eye was “black and purple in colour” in the aftermath of the incident and after going to the doctor two days later, he was put on painkillers.

Garda Sean Kennedy told the court the attack was “unprovoked” and that Mr Harty was arrested on November 9, 2023, having been identified as a suspect.

Having been shown CCTV footage of the incident, Mr Harty admitted it was him on the CCTV footage and that it was he who carried out the assault.

However, he said he had no recollection of the incident because he “had too much to drink”.

He apologised for his actions and offered to pay €500 to the injured party as a sign of his remorse and to cover the cost of the headphones.

Mr Harty has a number of previous convictions, but has not come to the attention of the gardaí since his last offence in 2018.

In her mitigation plea, barrister Amy Nix said her client is the father of three young children, including a newborn baby.

She asked the court to note his genuine remorse and that he co-operated fully with gardaí throughout the investigation.

Imposing sentence, Judge Colin Daly noted that the Director of Prosecutions had consented to the matter being heard before the district court but that Judge Carol Anne Coolican had refused jurisdiction

Judge Colin Daly sentenced Mr Harty to 12 months' imprisonment, suspending the sentence in its entirety.

The judge directed Mr Harty to pay the offered €500 compensation to the injured party in the case.