Carpenter guilty of 'horrendous beating' on 'keyboard warrior' over messages about fiancé
Gordon Deegan
A jury today found a 46-year-old Ennis carpenter who inflicted “a horrendous beating” with a claw hammer on a 'keyboard warrior’ guilty of assault causing harm and aggravated burglary.
At Ennis Circuit Court, the jury delivered a unanimous verdict to find Alan Mounsey guilty of the assault causing harm to Aaron Moloney in front of his two daughters, aged 12 and 10, at the Moloney home at Cluain Ard, Clarecastle, Ennis on February 22nd 2025.
After three hours and three minutes of deliberations, the jury also found Mounsey of Bishop's Court, Ennis guilty of aggravated burglary at the Moloney home on the same date, where he was accused of entering the building as a trespasser and had a claw hammer in his possession.
Mr Mounsey carried out the assault on Moloney after the victim sent “vile and disgusting” threatening messages about the carpenter’s fiancé and their unborn child.
There was no State application for a remand in custody for Mounsey pending sentence, but Mounsey decided to surrender his bail.
Judge Francis Comerford adjourned the case for one hour to allow Mounsey go home to pack his bag for prison, and Mounsey returned to court where Judge Comerford remanded him in custody to be sentenced later this year.
Judge Comerford directed a victim impact statement from Moloney in the case.
In her closing speech, counsel for the State, Sarah-Jane Comerford said that a “hot-headed” Alan Mounsey “took the law into his own hands” when striking an intoxicated Aaron Moloney in front of his two girls with the claw hammer across the head, shoulder and legs.
As a result of the assault, Comerford said that Moloney suffered two broken ribs, a punctured lung and a fractured kneecap from the claw hammer assault.
Comerford said that Moloney told the court that after being assaulted, Mounsey then videoed him and forced him to apologise to Mounsey’s partner on video.
She said the video was done “to make sure that the humiliation and the assault had the desired effect”.
She said that Mounsey restored his phone to factory settings and effectively wiped the phone after the assault.
Comerford told the jury that the defence of self-defence or lawful use of force is not available to Mounsey “as the level of force used was brutal and way above reasonably necessary”.
She said that the jury might feel disgusted by the messages sent by keyboard warrior, Moloney who, she said, was an addict at the time who had taken Xanax tablets and alcohol while caring for his young girls.
The judge adjourned the case to July 31st to fix a date for sentence later in the year.
