Pensioner jailed for hose and iron bar incident

A pensioner who turned a garden hose on a man and hit him on the head with an iron bar after he complained of being splashed by the gardener, was jailed for a year yesterday as the judge said he still did not have a scintilla of remorse.

Noel Long, aged 65, of 28 Maulbawn, Passage West, Co Cork, was found guilty by a jury last week of assault causing harm to Brendan Murphy, 38.

Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin said Long was still telling a cock and bull story yesterday of acting in self-defence despite the verdict.

The judge said Long invented stories for the jury of his actions being involuntary and even suggested that the victim “nodded the bar”.

“It is somewhat extraordinary to have a 65-year-old man before the court for assault. Normally, assault is the province of the young, hot-blooded, hot- tempered and the foolish; it is unusual to have a 65-year-old man in a situation where he blatantly and without provocation struck another man on the head with an iron bar and there is not a scintilla of remorse.

“There is a question of a lad having a short fuse and then your lad who doesn’t have any fuse at all,” the judge said in relation to Long to his barrister, Tom Power.

Long handed over €5,000 compensation to the injured party yesterday.

Garda Tim MacSweeney, who investigated the case, said Long had 18 convictions going back to 1966 including numerous counts of assault.

Judge Ó Donnabháin had warned Long that his attitude to the victim would be important in relation to sentencing.

In the trial, Mr Murphy, said he was driving past Long’s house when “water came in the driver’s side window”.

“He soaked me. I pulled up the van. I asked him what his problem was. I stood out of the van about 10 feet from him.

“Basically we exchanged words and he turned the hose on me. I said what the fuck are you after doing. You are after soaking me. He said fuck off out of here. He turned the hose on me. I jumped out of the way.

“I said in my own mind, kids wouldn’t do it. He picked up a bar, it was around three feet. We were just exchanging words. I bent down and I thought my eye was gone.”