Man jailed for smashing windows of car with children inside
A Dublin man who took part in a violent attack on a car containing four children including a toddler has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.
Michael McDonagh (aged 34) of St Joseph's Park, Dunsink Lane, Finglas pleaded guilty to violent disorder at Tesco Clearwater, on April 15, 2011.
Michael McDonagh was one of three men who used baseball bats to smash all the windows in the car before turning on the children's mother.
The men were involved in a feud with the father of the children and recognised his car at Tesco Clearwater Shopping Centre.
In her victim-impact statement, Bridgette Collins said the sight of her two-year-old trapped in the car as broken glass rained in was something no mother should ever have to witness.
She was in the supermarket when she heard her eight-year-old daughter screaming.
One of the men was shouting: "I'm going to kill your husband, I'm going to stab him to death".
McDonagh has since apologised for his part in the attack described as a "nightmare scene" by Judge Mary Ellen Ring, who imposed a six-year sentence with 18 months suspended.
