Carlow man jailed for fatal attack

A Carlow man who viciously kicked a Limerick man in the head, leading to his death, has been jailed for five years.

30-year-old John Mahon of Templeowen, Tullow, Co Carlow, kicked Joseph Woods repeatedly in a row on Wexford Street, Dublin on December 14th, 1998.

50-year-old Woods, originally from Limerick with an address at Cuffe Street flats in Dublin, died in St James’s Hospital on December 28th after a sub-jural brain haemorrhage.

Detective Sergeant Michael Fitzgerald gave evidence that following a Garda investigation, Mahon had been arrested and said he could not remember the incident because he was so drunk, but he admitted he must have 'freaked out'.

John Mahon pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to intentionally or recklessly engaging in conduct that may have contributed to Mr Woods’s death.

Judge Elizabeth Dunne said she recognised Mahon had taken a lot of drink on the night, and could not remember the incident, but described his behaviour as appalling.

The final six months of Mahon’s sentence was suspended because of his co-operation with the gardai and his conduct towards the deceased when he visited him in hospital after the attack.