Man victim of 'very serious glassing' over criticism of loud group in pub, court hears
A man smashed a glass into another man's face after overhearing him criticise the loudness of his friends, a court has heard.
Eoin McKinley (22) of Whitestown Avenue, Blanchardstown, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing harm at Weatherspoon's, Westend Retail Park, Blanchardstown, Dublin, on May 30, 2016.
Garda Sean Grehan told Diarmuid Collins BL, prosecuting, that on the night in question the injured party was drinking with a friend in the pub when he noticed a group of males making a lot of noise in the beer garden.
The man remarked to his friend that they were being loud and was overheard by the group. McKinley threw a glass towards their table which smashed on a fence.
A fight broke out during which McKinley smashed a glass into the face of the injured party. The man sustained a broken nose and a scar on his left eyebrow as a result of the assault.
In a victim impact statement, which was read out in court, the man said his total financial loss due to medical bills and lost wages was €1,000. He said he believed that alcohol was the biggest factor in causing the altercation.
McKinley has no previous convictions and has not come to adverse garda attention since. He was aged 19 at the time of the incident and has a one-year-old child.
Gda Grehan agreed with Mark Lynam BL, defending, that it was clear McKinley was quite intoxicated during the altercation.
He said that his client has applied for a loan so that he could provide €3,000 of compensation to the victim.
Mr Lynam said there was a suggestion that cocaine was involved due to the group of males seen on CCTV entering the toilets frequently and rubbing their noses upon their return.
He submitted that another man who was arrested as a result of this incident has since died of a drug overdose.
Judge Melanie Greally described the assault as “a very serious glassing” due to the victim being hit near his eye.
She ordered a community service report and adjourned the matter to June 25, next.
