Former fireman gets nine years for sword assault

A former fireman who cut a carpenter's left hand off with a samurai sword in a crowded Dublin pub has been sentenced to nine years in prison by Judge Katherine Delahunt at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Charles Russell (aged 28), of Whitechapel Road, pleaded guilty to intentionally or recklessly causing Mr Peter Rogers serious harm at The Deputy Mayor Pub, Meekstown on January 13, 2008. His 31 previous convictions included road traffic and criminal damage offences.