Cork woman attacked other woman in pub in row over phone

Accused borrowed phone to text her boyfriend and then assaulted complainant and smashed phone after accusing her of reading text, court heard

Injured party told court: 'I was good enough to give her my phone. I gave her my phone out of the good of my heart and she got very aggressive. Picture: Larry Cummins

A Cork woman in a pub gave another woman a loan of her phone — “out of the good of my heart” — to text her boyfriend but the woman then pulled a clump of hair out of her head and smashed the phone because she believed the phone owner was reading the text.

Shannon Frayne, who is aged about 30, of Dunmore Gardens, Knocknaheeny, Cork, denied charges of assault and causing criminal damage but Judge Marian O’Leary convicted her and said she will sentence her at Cork District Court on May 31.

Injured party Caroline O’Mahony will have an opportunity in the meantime to prepare a victim impact statement.

Ms O’Mahony said the defendant was about 20 years younger than her and that she asked her if she could use her phone at Hannah Bawn’s in Gurranabraher on the night of June 9, 2019.

“When I asked back for it she got very aggressive. She wouldn’t give it back. She bashed it off the table. I got attacked — the person went for my hair. She grabbed me by the hair. A piece of my hair came out. She got removed from the pub afterwards. The phone had a lot of damage to it,” Ms O’Mahony said.

The injured party said she did not really know the defendant. 

Donal Daly, solicitor, suggested they did know each other.

“She sent you a request before on Facebook.” 

Ms O’Mahony replied, “If you are friends on Facebook that doesn’t mean you are friends in real life. A lot of people sent friend requests. I accept a lot of friend requests… OK she sends a friend request but so does thousands of others – I don’t know them either.” 

Mr Daly said: “This was a stupid argument over who was looking at these messages and there was drink involved.” 

Ms O’Mahony said: “I am after swearing on the bible, I know I wasn’t drunk. I had about two glasses of wine. I was good enough to give her my phone. I gave her my phone out of the good of my heart and she got very aggressive. I am a quiet person. I was taken advantage of.” 

Mr Daly said: “You locked on to her, you locked on to her hair.” 

Ms O’Mahony replied: “Both on to one another, like… Both kind of.” 

The defendant Shannon Frayne testified: “I did ask her for her phone. I wanted to text my boyfriend because my phone was dead. 

"[After handing phone back] I said you are reading my messages. She got upset. She gave me back the phone so I could log off. Caroline was very upset. It was nothing really. I said you are looking at my messages. It was not a big thing really. She got vexed. She said that is my phone.

“I did not smash the phone off the table. I threw the phone at her. She grabbed me by the hair. I grabbed her by the hair. The barman separated us… I went home. 

"She grabbed on to me first. I did not expect her to go on to me. I did not want to go on to her but she had me by the head.

“I didn’t throw the phone at her, I flipped it at her so that she could catch it.” 

Asked why she did not hand the phone back, Ms Frayne said: “Because she was mad giving out.” 

Asked if she saw the owner catch the phone, the defendant said she did not.