Man who leaned on wall 'so he could dance on prone victim' jailed in Cork

Nigel Walsh initially stopped then returned to attack his victim on three further occasions over the next 20 minutes.

Nigel Walsh was jailed for two years.

An assault on a young man at the Mardyke in Cork was so relentless that at one stage the attacker steadied himself against a wall so that he could jump up and down on his victim.

Nigel Walsh, who is aged around 30, of no fixed abode first attacked the other young man on August 5, 2018, after 10.30pm, but he stopped and returned to attack him on three further occasions over the next 20 minutes.

In the last part of the attack the injured party tried to get away to the safety of the garden of a house but Walsh followed him. 

Detective Garda Brian Barron said CCTV showed Walsh “as he leans on the wall and uses it to support himself as he jumps up and down on the injured party who is on the ground”. 

This evidence was given at Cork Circuit Criminal Court where Walsh was jailed for two years.

Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin said: “This was an appalling assault. 

The level of violence was exceptional. As the guard said, he (Walsh) used the wall for leverage so he could dance on the prone victim.

“It all lasted 20 minutes – If you were under attack for that period it must have felt like a lifetime.” 

Initially when he was interviewed Walsh said of his assault that he was delighted and that he would do it again. But he later admitted remorse and apologised for the assault.

Paula McCarthy, defence barrister, said the accused admitted that his actions were appalling. 

McCarthy said that six months after carrying out the assault, Walsh was himself the victim of a bad assault in Cork city and was in intensive care for a period afterwards.