Trio attacked teen for nightclub chat

A casual encounter with a girl in a night club sparked what a judge described as “a callous and cowardly” assault in which a college graduate had his face kicked in.

Three men — Cathal O’Brien, aged 22, of The Cross, Ardagh, Co Limerick; Shane Kelly, aged 22, Ballagh, Abbeyfeale, Co Limerick; and Deniss Permanickis, aged 27, Ballagh, Abbfyeale — all pleaded guilty at Limerick Circuit Court to assault causing harm and violent disorder.

James O’Donnell, an information technology graduate, was set upon by the three after he was seen talking briefly to Permanickis’s girlfriend while they were all the Club Mission nightclub in Newcastle West.