Man who stabbed acquaintance at party gets six years
A man who stabbed an acquaintance during a fight at a Christmas party leaving his victim permanently paralysed from the chest down has been sentenced to six years in prison by Judge Katherine Delahunt.
Stephen O'Reilly, (aged 21) of Clanranald Road, Donnycarney, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to Philip Dunne (aged 22) at an apartment block in Ridgewood, Swords, on December 26, 2006.
Mr Dunne's victim impact statement to the court said that he regularly wakes up sweating from nightmares and does not want to face the day. He is now living in the sitting room of his girlfriend's mother's house and feels isolated because there are days when he can't get out because there is nobody around to help him.
"I used to see people in wheelchairs and I thought they just couldn't walk. I had no idea of the other problems they face every day," Mr Dunne said in the report after his additional medical complications were outlined.
He had sustained two stab wounds, one to his shoulder and one in his upper back, a couple of inches below his neck, which left him permanently paralysed. There "was little or no chance" that he would ever walk again or father children and he was still on very strong painkillers.
Judge Delahunt said that an initial fight between the two, if it had ended when O'Reilly fell to the ground, would probably have been viewed the next morning as a "silly drunken argument".
She said it was presumed by everyone that night, including Mr Dunne, that this was an evenly matched fight and nobody was aware that O'Reilly was armed with a knife.
Judge Delahunt said it was a serious assault that has left Mr Dunne with significant pain that he will continue to suffer into the future.
She suspended the last 12 months of the sentence for two years on condition that O'Reilly co-operate with the probation services upon his release from prison.
Garda Jerome Campbell told Mr Remy Farrell BL, prosecuting, that Mr Dunne and O'Reilly had gone to the same house party that night and "an altercation arose between the two". They were asked "to take it outside" and they both went out where the fighting continued and O'Reilly fell to the ground.
Mr Dunne was putting his jumper back on when he felt something being pushed into his back. He turned and on seeing that O'Reilly had a knife in his hand he shouted "he's after stabbing me" before he was stabbed a second time in the shoulder.
Mr Dunne fell against a wall and he later told gardaí that at this stage he had no feeling in his legs.
Other people from the party then came out and O'Reilly was punched a few times so they could get the knife off him. He left the apartment but was soon arrested by gardaí nearby who had already received a call about the incident and were given a description of him.
O'Reilly first gave gardaí a false name and address but later admitted to stabbing Mr Dunne. He said he told the victim at first that he didn't want to fight him but claimed that Mr Dunne kept throwing him "sly digs".
He then said he was "getting hit from every angle" by both the victim and his friends before he took out the knife, that he used the previous night for cutting cannabis, and stabbed Mr Dunne. He told gardaí he didn't want to do it, he just wanted him to leave him alone.
O'Reilly had 44 previous convictions, which were mostly for road traffic and public order offences and had all been dealt with in the District Court. He was remanded in custody since the day of his arrest.
Gda Campbell agreed with Ms Iseult O'Malley SC (with Mr Niall Nolan BL), that there was a considerable amount of alcohol taken by everyone that night at the party and many of them had also taken drugs.
He accepted a suggestion from counsel that a combination of alcohol and cocaine could have led to O'Reilly having a paranoid and aggressive reaction to a threat he perceived as coming from Mr Dunne and friends but Gda Campbell confirmed that the fight was only between O'Reilly and Mr Dunne.
He said there was a struggle to disarm O'Reilly that night and that he was left with cuts and bruises to his face from the attempts made by others to get the knife off him.
He agreed that O'Reilly had taken responsibility for his actions and was genuinely remorseful. He told the court that the apology had been passed onto Mr Dunne but "he isn't in a position to accept it".
Ms O'Malley told Judge Delahunt that this was "an offence with catastrophic consequences" and although her client has no clear recollection of the night, "he does know that he stabbed an unarmed man".
