Man stabbed in face after being pinned to ground in 'premeditated' attack in Dublin, court hears

Tom Tuite

A man was stabbed in the face after he was pinned to the ground by three attackers armed with a knife, nail and a stick in central Dublin, a court heard.

Jeffrey Kelly, age 44, of Sheephill Avenue, Blanchardstown, Dublin, is accused of attacking Joseph Morgan, who suffered "life-changing injuries" on September 10th.

He appeared at Dublin District Court but had bail denied by Judge Catherine Ghent on Saturday.

Defence solicitor Michael Kelleher said his client denies the allegations.

Mr Kelly has been charged with assault causing harm to Mr Morgan, also in his 40s and from Blanchardstown.

The offence on conviction is punishable by a sentence of up to 10 years' imprisonment.

Citing the seriousness of the case, Garda Paul Cummins alleged Mr Morgan was stabbed in the face at around 10am outside a drug treatment centre on Spring Garden Lane, Dublin 2.

Garda Cummins said he arrived at the scene and observed medics treating Mr Morgan, who had “a number of deep lacerations to his face”.

He was then taken to St James’s Hospital.

The complainant reported that he had been attacked by three males with a knife, nail and a stick, and they used them during the assault.

CCTV capturing the incident was harvested from several locations, which the garda described as being of excellent quality. Garda Cummins told the court that the case against Mr Kelly was that he struck the victim first, causing him to fall.

It was alleged that the assault was premeditated and targeted, and Mr Morgan was “pinned down” on the ground.

He suffered deep lacerations above his left eye, forehead, below his right eye, side of his head beside his ear and to the top of his head, requiring stitches. He also suffered facial bruising.

The accused was searched a day later in the city centre and found to have a wooden spike with a blood-stained substance on it.

Gardai believe it was used in the assault, and it has been dispatched for technical analysis.

On Friday, the accused was arrested, and he was detained for an interview, but Mr Kelly made no comment.

It was believed he was wearing the same clothing as during the incident, the garda said.

A file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions, and further charges will be sought.

It was also alleged that the incident was seen by a manager in the treatment centre.

The garda also voiced possible witness interference concerns.

Mr Kelleher disputed that his client was identifiable with distinctive features, and the quality of the footage depicted a person in generic clothing and a baseball cap.

Garda Cummins agreed but maintained the accused was easily tracked in the CCTV footage by his clothing and had been identified from his facial features.

Mr Kelleher submitted that the person in the video had a cap obscuring their face, but the garda contended that it was not pulled down over the face.

The solicitor also pointed out that his client made no admissions, denies the allegations and could be in custody on remand until his trial, which was unlikely to be heard before 2027 in the Circuit Court.

He argued that the key facts of the Bail Act for denying bail in extreme circumstances had not been established in this case.

He also stressed that his client was a man of modest means, had no reason to go near the area, and had never been in prison custody before.

Legal aid was granted to the accused, who is unemployed.

Judge Ghent refused bail and remanded him in custody to appear at Cloverhill District Court next week.