A man was sentenced to three and a half years behind bars for a vicious pub fight in which he used a broken pint glass to slice the faces of two other men.
Miguel De Silva (21 ) of Ennis Road, Gort, was brought before Judge Raymond Groarke at Galway Circuit Criminal last Wednesday in relation to the assaults.
Sgt Pat Foley told the court that on April 6, 2008, at around 8.30pm Leslie and Ruairi Keary were at Dicey Rielly’s pub in Gort. The defendant, a Portuguese national, had been sitting near the bar when Leslie starting dancing and made contact with the defendant’s leg. De Silva pushed Leslie Keary away from him, threw his drink at him, and then broke the pint glass on the bar and “pushed it” into the man’s face.
Ruairi Keary then picked up a bar stool, swung it at the defendant who turned around and “struck him [Ruairi] with the glass in the face”. When Ruairi crouched down in an attempt to protect himself he got a blow to the forehead and ear. The defendant then fled the scene but was arrested later in a housing estate.
Sgt Foley said that a witness at the bar told gardai that Lesley and the defendant had “had words” and had “squared up to one another” earlier that night.
The court then heard the extent of the injuries received by the two injured parties. The injuries sustained by Lesley (28 ) included one 5x5 V-shaped laceration to the face, one seven centimetre laceration to the neck, and two V-shaped injuries to the chin.
The injuries sustained by Ruairi (20 ) included a perforated eardrum, a Y-shaped laceration to the forehead which required ten sutures and a laceration to the cheek which needed eight sutures. A victim impact statement was then handed to Judge Groarke.
When questioned by State barrister Conor Fahy Sgt Foley said the defendant had been seen in the company of Brazilian man and that the defendant had thought that Leslie Keary had called him a “mother f***er”. A witness said that “one of the Irish guys had come up to the bar” and asked this Brazilian man about a car. The defendant then came over and asked “Do you want me to fight this fella for you”. Sgt Foley added that everyone was very intoxicated. He also informed the court that the defendant had previous convictions which include an eight month sentence for burglary.
After hearing the evidence, Judge Groarke sentenced the defendant to three and half years in jail.
