Man thrown through Kilkenny chipper window TWICE in brawl court told

Two of four youths originally sent for trial following the incident at the Brennan Sisters take away, The Square, Freshford, on April 11, 2025, appeared before the court, last week. A third man has already had his case adjourned to November for finalisation.

Nikita Semionov, 20 Brescula Close, Bellingham, Mountrath Road, PortLaoise, and Patrick McInerney, 1 The Springs, Kilminchy, PortLaoise, each pleaded guilty to one count of affray and one count of assault causing harm.

A previous court sitting had been shown CCTV of the incident and heard garda evidence.

The court was told the day of the incident had been a hot one and the young men had gone swimming - “a day out with the lads”.

They had refreshments later in the day and then went to the take away in Freshford.

Inside the take away were a number of locals. One of the group of youths was removing leaflets from the counter which seemed to annoy one of the locals.

A quarrel ensued and strikes were thrown.

Mr Semionov “jumped in” because his friends were involved, his barrister said. He admitted he hit the injured party twice at the start of the incident, but was “very much at the periphery” of events after that.

Mr Downey BL said gardaí accepted that his client had minimal involvement and was not involved when the injured party was thrown through a window on two occasions.

A Probation Report was in court and the barrister summarised that it said Mr Semionov had shown a “situational lapse in judgement” and has a level of awareness of the effects this incident has had on the injured party.

Mr Semionov lives with his father and grandmother. When he was 12 he started smoking cannabis and due to his cannabis use the Probation Report had placed him at ‘moderate’ risk of reoffending in the next 12 months.

The barrister said that while his client is of limited means he is available to do community service or voluntary work.

Describing his client as a very young man, Mr Downey said he had gone on a “day out with the lads,” had a few pints and had smoked cannabis earlier in the day.

They went for some food and the altercation occurred.

Mr Semionov “withdrew from the situation” when it escalated and remained outside.

He had nothing to do with the eventual injuries suffered by the injured party, the barrister said, and his client needed to be treated differently to other people before the court.

On behalf of Mr McInerney, David Roberts BL said his client was the one who had pushed the leaflets from the counter to the floor “in what might be described as hi-jinks.”

This was “met with local resistance from older and bigger men.”

Mr McInerney’s behaviour thereafter did not do him credit, the barrister said.

Now 20 years old, his client is young, Mr Roberts said. Something that started off relatively innocent was exacerbated significantly.

His client did put the leaflets on the ground but then “the situation went into a different league.”

Mr Roberts said the defendant accepted the charges, including throwing broken glass from the window at the injured party, towards the end of the incident.

He has since expressed genuine remorse and concern for the consequences of his behaviour. He has engaged with the Probation Officer.

Mr McInerney had gathered €2,500 to offer in compensation to the injured party, the court was told.

Mr Roberts appealed to the court not to impose a custodial sentence. His client is on a “much improved path” and is using the support of the Probation Service to help his own understanding of his challenges.

Judge Sinead McMullen adjourned finalisation of the case to the same day as their co-accused, at the next sittings of Kilkenny Circuit Court, commencing on November 3.