Man beaten outside pub

A MIDDLE-AGED man drinking in his local pub in west Cork was beaten to his knees and then held by the hair as his two attackers kicked and kneed him into the face. One of the assailants has been given a suspended one-year sentence.

Jerry Kelleher, of Aharas, Ballingeary, Macroom, Co Cork, pleaded guilty toassault causing harm to Michael O’Connell at Cileanna Bar, Johnstown, Kilmichael, Co Cork, on November 24, 2007.

Detective Garda Tom O’Sullivan said Kelleher, 23, asked Mr O’Connell, 53, to step outside. Mr O’Connell, who is a builder, thought it might have been about doing a job.