Man jailed after violent incident in Cork city pub

A jail sentence of 18 months was imposed on a man who produced a bat during a violent confrontation at The Manhattan Bar in Ballyphehane, Cork, over Christmas 2011.

Judge Patrick J Moran imposed the sentence on Kief Varian, of 18 Sycamore Place, Togher, Cork, who pleaded guilty to producing the timber bat after St Stephen’s Day 2011.

Judge Moran said: “What happened at The Manhattan Bar ended in a terrible tragedy [the death of Gerard Delaney].

“I accept your [Varian’s] part in that tragedy was not of a serious nature. You decided to take a bat off one of the Delaneys and then decided to use it. I accept the Delaneys went there without the best reasons in the world to avenge a score.

“The probation officer reports that you don’t seem to realise the serious nature of what you got involved in. I do think this was an outrageous incident in a licensed premises in this city on St Stephen’s night.”

Defence senior counsel Tom Creed reminded Judge Moran at the sentencing hearing that two other men on the Delaney side of what was described as a feud received sentences of three years that were entirely suspended. Mr Creed said that while Gerard Delaney was fatally injured with a knife, Varian was not involved in that.

Mr Creed also said Varian was not involved in the family feud that give rise to the incident, but was present in The Manhattan Bar that night and became involved in the dispute.

Garda Bríd Norris agreed that this was correct.

Mr Creed said: “There were a number of other people involved and they received a suspended three-year sentence.

“Mr Varian is now 20. It was a form of retaliation of some sort where individuals came in to the bar with the weapons. He managed to take control of the bat and use it during the incident.”