Woman, 72, was punched after Mass

A father of two who punched a 72-year-old woman on her way home from Mass has been jailed for two and a half years.

Andrew Smith, aged 31, was one of three men who took part in the attack. The woman, who suffered two black eyes and cuts to her face, was described as hysterical and bleeding profusely when she later arrived at a Garda station.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard there had been a history of animosity between the families.