Limerick court hears assault followed row over damage to car that began on Facebook

AN argument over damage to a car ended in assault, Newcastle West court was told.

Before the court was Marion Lynch, 17 Cois na Féile, Abbeyfeale who pleaded to assault causing harm to Debbie Lenihan at Cois na Feile on July 27 last year.

On that date, Inspector Dermot Conlon said,outlining the background, gardai were called to the estate. The injured party, Ms Lenihan’s car, had been damaged prior to that, allegedly by a son of Ms Lynch’s child, who hit the car with a hurley.

An argument over this had begun on Facebook, the inspector explained.

“There was disagreement on Facebook messenger over who actually damaged the injured party’s car,” he said.

Ms Lynch sent a message to Ms Lenihan that her son didn’t do it. Ms Lynch then “took it upon herself” to go up to a neighbouring house where Ms Lenihan was visiting a friend.  

There, Ms Lenihan said in her statement to the gardai, she was assaulted by Ms Lynch who slapped her with her open hand, pulled her hair and scratched her face.

Pleading for his client, solicitor Michael O’Donnell said that matters had been simmering. But his client was doing her best with three young children, he said.

She generally “gets on with the community except for this event”. It was “out of character”, he said.

The parties had now “distanced themselves”, he said.

Adjourning the case for a probation report, Judge Mary Cashin said it was a serious assault.

“It was an unprovoked assault which makes it more serious,” she said.

“You went up to that house to confront that woman,” she said to Ms Lynch. She asked Ms Lynch what she didn’t accept, given that one of her own sons had said his brother had hit the car.

“After that he said he didn’t say it,” Ms Lynch replied, adding that Ms Lenihan had “thrown stuff” in her face about a family member.

The case comes back into court in January.