Man jailed for three years after ‘savage’ glass assault

A 25-YEAR-OLD man was yesterday given a three-year jail sentence for a “savage assault” during which he struck another man in the face with a pint glass, in Causeway, Co Kerry, last year.

Father of one David Goggin, of Marian Terrace, Causeway, pleaded guilty to assault causing serious harm to Matthew O’Connell, 27, in the Keg Bar, on May 9, 2009.

The injured party has already run up costs of more than €25,000 for medical and dental treatment, Tralee Circuit Criminal Court was told. The assault was unprovoked.

Garda Stephen Tobin said the accused first headbutted Mr O’Connell into the back of the head and then hit him in the face with a pint glass, all of which was recorded on CCTV. He suffered serious facial lacerations, needed 30 stitches and is still undergoing plastic surgery.

He also suffered damage to his and teeth and mouth which required implants and crowns and a graft to his gum. Dental procedures are ongoing.

In a victim impact statement read to the court by Garda Tobin, Mr O’Connell said his character had been altered as a result of the incident.

Prior to the assault, he had considered himself an outgoing, confident person, but he had changed dramatically since the attack. He now shied away from socialising because he felt people were judging him because of his facial scars.

“Every time I look in the mirror, my face is a constant reminder of the night I was viciously assaulted,” Mr O’Connell said.

Senior counsel Dermot McKeown, for Goggin, said his client had consumed a great amount of alcohol on the night, but that was no excuse. He had no recollection of what happened.

Mr McKeown said his client came from a respectable, hard-working family, had passed his Leaving Cert and became an apprentice plumber.

Mr McKeown told Judge Carroll Moran: “I cannot make an offer of compensation because we simply don’t have the resources for that. I am simply left asking you to take everything into account.”

Passing sentence, Judge Moran said: “I have to impose a prison sentence given the horrendous nature of the assault and the injuries.”