Farmer, 65, avoids jail after road rage assault
John Delaney, of Tullagreine House, Carrigtwohill, Co Cork, pleaded guilty to a charge of assault causing harm to Donal Daly, 59, on the N25 at Tullagreine, Carrigtwohill, on April 11, 2013.
While the evidence was that he produced the knife, that actual charge was dropped when he pleaded to the assault.
Delaney brought €20,000 compensation to Cork Circuit Criminal Court to compensate the victim.
Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin said: “This was a very nasty case in which John Delaney — a man in his middle years — assaulted with a knife which he produced.
“The injured party, Donal Daly, got a very nasty injury along the palm of his hand.
“It was an entirely unprovoked assault because of Delaney losing the run of himself, aggravated by the fact of producing a knife.”
Donal O’Sullivan, defending, said the accused had raised substantial compensation.
The victim was previously described as sustaining irreparable damage to three fingers on his right hand when he grabbed the blade of a knife held by Delaney during the incident.
Garda Peter Moran said both men were driving on the road near Carrigtwohill when they both stopped over some minor driving issue and an altercation started between them.
At one stage during this verbal altercation, Delaney produced a knife. Mr Daly grabbed the knife as a way of defending himself, according to the guard, and three of his fingers were badly cut.
Speaking of the impact of the injury, Mr Daly told the judge, “Three fingers in that hand cannot be used. I cannot use a can opener. The surgeon told me he could do no more with it.”
The judge was told on behalf of the defendant that it was a crazy thing for him to have done and was totally out of character.
“It happened because the accused, John Delaney, produced this knife. Mr Daly would not have been injured if John Delaney had not produced this knife,” the judge said.
