18 months for Bandon pub assault

The family of a father-of-four who died after he was punched during a pub argument claimed yesterday that the deceased had been portrayed as a villain rather than a victim. The man who assaulted him was jailed for 18 months today.

Judge Patrick J Moran imposed a three-year sentence on Mark Prendergast (aged 26) of Richmond Court, Bandon, Co Cork, and suspended half of it. A four-day trial ended last July when Judge Moran directed the jury to return a verdict of not guilty on the manslaughter charge in which Prendergast was accused of the unlawful killing of Richard Ryan of Rockgrove, Bandon, at the Bridewell Bar, Oliver Plunkett Street, Bandon, on November 17, 2002.