Prison sentence for man who assaulted garda outside Kilkenny pub

Assaulting a garda outside a Kilkenny pub has resulted in a four month prison sentence for a man who appeared before the local district court.

Nevin Kelly, Dunbell Big, Bennettsbridge, pleaded guilty to charges of assault and using threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour following an incident on December 23 last.

The court heard that gardaí were called to a John Street pub at approximately 2am on December 23, where a man was acting aggressively.
When they arrived Mr Kelly was being restrained by door staff. He was being put out of the premises.

Gardaí attempted to arrest Mr Kelly under the Public Order Act and he kicked out, kicking one of the gardaí on the leg.
The garda was sore but the injury did not prevent him continuing to work on, that night.
Mr Kelly was arrested and taken to Kilkenny Garda Station.
The defendant had 40 previous convictions, the court was told.

Solicitor Chris Hogan said his client has a ‘challenging relationship with drink’ and had asked him to apologise on his behalf to the garda.
Mr Kelly had brought the sum of €300 to court to offer as compensation, the solicitor said.

On the night in question Mr Kelly was socialising with his brother and drank too much, Mr Hogan said. He had also been on medication.
There was an incident in the pub, where Mr Kelly spilled another person’s drink, and he had been asked to leave.
His brother was still inside and Mr Kelly tried to get back in to him. It was then he was restrained by the door staff.
Mr Hogan said his client was kicking out while being restrained and accepted this continued when the gardaí arrived. He shouldn’t have done it.
Mr Hogan said his client has obtained employment in the construction industry and is engaging with the mental health services.

Judge Geraldine Carthy convicted Mr Kelly on both charges. She noted the matter had originally been listed for hearing on the day. She said the detail of the events made for “very stark reading.”

Gardaí were coming to the assistance of an individual who was out of control, she observed.
Mr Kelly has a very challenging relationship with alcohol and the gardaí got the brunt of that, she said.
On the assault charge Mr Kelly was sentenced to four months imprisonment. The public order offence was taken into consideration. Recognisance was fixed in the event of an appeal.