Limerick man jailed for wielding hammer during city centre altercation

A MAN who wielded a hammer during an incident which forced dozens of people to flee from a pub in the city centre has been jailed for three months.

Jeffrey Kelly, 27, of no fixed abode, had pleaded guilty to a number of charges relating to an incident on April 3, last.

Inspector Liz Kennedy said the defendant and three other men entered the Old Quarter bar at Little Ellen Street at around 6.30pm and that Mr Kelly brandished the hammer and “tried to strike one of the other three men”.

The hammer was stolen from a nearby restaurant and he was wielding a brush when arrested by gardai following the incident.

Judge Marian O’Leary was previously told around 25 people were in the pub at the time and that many of them were having food.

Solicitor Sarah Ryan said all four men were known to each other and that what happened related to a row over a small amount of money which was taken from him.

“He was outnumbered, he picked up a hammer and brush to defend himself,” she said. 

She said the €100 “meant everything to him” as he was homeless at the time and that there is “no ill will” between the men.

Judge O’Leary imposed a 12 week prison sentence which she backdated to April 26, last.