A Newcastle man who assaulted a passenger in a taxi they were sharing, in an unprovoked attack, handed over the last of the compensation owed and received the benefit of the Probation Act.
At Galway District Court on Monday Daire Geraghty (23 ) with an address at 29 Tudor Lawn, Newcastle, brought with him the remaining €1,000 payment for compensation; at a previous court sitting in November last year Geraghty had paid €2,500 which was given to the man whom he had assaulted causing him harm on December 27, 2010.
At that court sitting it was revealed that the older man had been waiting for a pre-booked taxi to take him from Eyre Square to his home. When the taxi pulled into the taxi rank, the man got into the front passenger seat, however, the defendant’s sister then hopped into the back. The taxi driver told her that the taxi had been pre-booked, however when asked the injured party said that he did not have any objection to sharing. The woman then told her brother, the defendant, to get into the back of the car.
The situation took a turn for the worse when the taxi arrived at Geraghty’s home. The defendant then suddenly got out of the car, opened the front passenger door and then started kicking the injured party in the face as well as punching him in the back of the head. The court heard that the taxi driver had witnessed the entire incident and had given a statement to gardai. Photographs were also handed into court showing the injuries sustained. It was also suggested that Geraghty had acted in such a disgraceful manner because he had taken exception to comments made by the injured party about his sister. The case was adjourned for the payment of a further €1,000 in compensation.
When the matter resumed the court heard that not only had Geraghty handed in the extra €1,000 but has also given €395 to the taxi driver. Geraghty’s solicitor said that his client is a trainee carpenter with a previously unblemished record and who is a keen sportsman having played football with Galway United and represented his county. The solicitor added that Geraghty was “ashamed of his behaviour” and the “severity of it has led him to seek help for anger management”. The solicitor then asked Judge Mary Fahy to take into account the defendant’s previous good character and record no conviction against his client.
Noting that the defendant had paid the compensation in full, Judge Fahy said that Geraghty has not “shirked his responsibility”. However, she added that the best that can be done is the Probation Act Section 1(1 ) as the “injured party had to go back into work showing signs of being injured after the holidays as if he had been doing something wrong”.
