Rival singsong turns to mayhem in Killarney hotel

A "chaotic scene" greeted gardaí who were called to a Killarney hotel in which guests "ostensibly celebrating" a Confirmation, the Circuit Criminal Court in Tralee heard yesterday.

The court was told they threw bottles, lamps, chairs, and glasses in a hotel bar; staff who tried to intervene and ferry other guests to safety were assaulted; a garda was kicked and pinned to the ground at the hotel entrance and her colleague was held by the throat; and 10 more gardaí had to be called to contain the mayhem which erupted during a rival sing-along.

Patrick Dinan, aged 40, and his wife Mary Dinan aged 42, parents of seven children, two of whom had made their Confirmation, of Forest View, Goulds Hill, Mallow, Co Cork, and Mr Dinan’s sister Mary Ann Dinan, aged 22, of Seamus Murphy Place, Mallow, had all earlier pleaded guilty to the charge of violent disorder at the Quality Hotel, Killarney, at around 1am on May 19, 2013.

In addition, Patrick Dinan pleaded guilty to assaulting two gardaí and to a charge of criminal damage and his wife Mary pleaded guilty to assaulting two civilians and damage to property. Mary Ann also pleaded guilty to assaulting two civilians and to damaging property.

The Dinan family was having a singalong in the Fusion Bar when the women became involved in a verbal altercation with people at an adjoining table who were also singing, the hearing was told.

A local family at an adjoining table were celebrating a Christening and themselves had entered the bar at 5pm.

The altercation took place between 12.45am and 1am, Sgt David Callaghan said.

“Mary and Mary Ann Dinan began to throw bottles and ashtrays and glass objects pretty much at random,” said Tom Rice, prosecuting.

Three staff were struck, two of them on the head, and the bar manager had to take a week off work. A woman at the adjoining table suffered back and neck injuries that continue to trouble her.

The scene was captured on CCTV. Patrick Dinan had made efforts to restrain the women and “to try to get the groups to retreat”, Sgt Callaghan agreed with counsel.

However, Dinan became embroiled in “extreme violence” when gardaí were called. He knocked a female garda to the ground and assaulted a male garda. It took six gardaí to restrain him.

The women had to be pepper-sprayed in front of the children.

All three were remorseful and co-operative when arrested in August 2013 and have given up drink having seen their behaviour.

Judge Thomas E O’ Donnell said the incident had the “classic factors” of a spontaneous eruption of violence at “an ostensible family celebration with the adults still in the bar having consumed a lorry load of drink”.

He convicted each on all charges and sentenced each of the three to a total of two years and six months, suspending the sentences in the case of all three for a period of four years.