Kilkenny pub owner pleads guilty to assault of lease holder after ‘soured business relationship’

The owner of a Castlecomer pub has appeared in court charged with the assault of the man who was leasing the business from him.

James O’Loughlin, Newtown, Castlecomer, pleaded guilty to the assault of the other man, in the pub, on March 3, 2024.
Mr O’Loughlin has since taken over as pub licensee.

Sergeant Morgan O’Connor told the court that on March 4 last gardaí received a report of an assault that had taken place just before midnight.

A number of customers at the Corner House bar, Barrack Street, Castlecomer, witnessed events and gave statements as part of the investigation.

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Mr O’Loughlin called in to the pub in an intoxicated and “highly agitated” state, the sergeant said. He struck the other man twice. He also made threats which the man took very seriously.
There were no previous convictions recorded against Mr O’Loughlin.

Solicitor Pat Finucane said his client accepted responsibility for the incident and had asked him to express his genuine remorse.

At the time the other man was leasing the premises from Mr O’Loughlin. It was leased on a rolling basis over a number of years.
The lease was being renegotiated a the time of this incident.

Mr Finucane said some things had occurred, of a business and a personal nature, that lead to relations souring between the two men.

CCTV recorded the incident with audio and Mr O’Loughlin could be heard saying a number of things relating to the breakdown of the commercial relationship, Mr Finucane told the court.

Mr O’Loughlin is 52 years old and never before came to garda attention, his solicitor said.

From 1993 to 2023 his client had lived and worked in the USA, Mr Finucane said. His objective was to one-day come back and buy a pub in Castlecomer with his brother.
Mr O’Loughlin’s brother, Frank, was shot and killed in a violent incident in New York in 1998, however he felt strongly that the dream they had should be kept alive.

In 2020 he bought the pub in Castlecomer. As he was still living in the USA, where he ran his own construction company, in late 2020 the business was leased to the other man.

This situation continued for a number of years, but, as time went on Mr O’Loughlin became unhappy about the way the pub was being run and ended the lease.
Circumstances were not helped by an incident in which Mr O’Loughlin’s other brother was barred from the pub, Mr Finucane said.

In a commercial sense, Mr O’Loughlin was not happy with the way the pub was being run and took steps ‘to remove some people from the premises’ when he took over the running of the business.

One person came back and attacked the pub, twice. On one occasion with a “petrol bomb” while people were still on the premises.

The assault for which Mr O’Loughlin was charged is “an isolated incident,” the solicitor said.
His client is “extremely regretful and remorseful for his actions,” Mr Finucane told the court. He has had to think carefully about what happened. Mr Finucane said that Mr O’Loughlin is currently also the carer for his ill father.

A victim impact statement was handed in to court.

Judge Geraldine Carthy requested a pre-sentencing Probation Report be compiled, to assist her in making an informed decision.
The matter was adjourned to a court sitting in July to allow this.