Three men convicted of unprovoked attack on off-duty gardaí on night out in Cork

Two of the men involved in causing harm to the gardaí have since been convicted of the murder of 43-year-old Thomas Dooley at a cemetery in Tralee in October 2022

The three accused pleaded guilty to two counts of assault causing harm and one of engaging with others in violent disorder. Picture: Dan Linehan

Two off-duty members of An Garda Síochána were entitled to socialise in Cork City without being the victims of unprovoked attacks by men acting like boxers, a Circuit Court judge said as she sentenced the three assailants on Thursday.

Judge Helen Boyle said Christmas revellers out enjoying themselves in the city were also entitled to do so without the spectacle of this kind of violence on Oliver Plunkett Street.