Mayo man lucky to escape with life after drinking partner attacked him
The defendant pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court.
A man could have died after he was attacked by his friend following a drinking session.
Eddie Cleary, aged 24, of Headford Road, Galway, admitted a charge of assault causing harm when he appeared before a sitting of Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court last week.
The court heard that Cleary and the injured party, Richard Ryan, aged 32, were friends at the time and spent most of the day drinking together in Ballyhaunis on February 10, 2020.
After consuming alcohol at a number of locations around the town, the accused bought a slab (24 cans) of Budweiser and the men drank the beer behind the local branch of the Credit Union.
The injured party decided to leave and said “good night” to Cleary before he was followed and attacked by his drinking partner on Barrack Street.
Mr Ryan told Gardaí he was tripped up and Cleary got on top of him. He said the accused told him “Die, you bastard, die!”
The victim believed he was attacked with a blade but the prosecution accepted that the weapon may also have been a broken bottle.
Mr Ryan received a number of lacerations to his facial area and thumb. He sustained cuts to his ear, temple, and neck and was covered in blood when he made his way to the home of his parents-in-law. The victim was taken to Mayo University Hospital in Castlebar where he was treated for his injuries.
Following the attack, Cleary fled the scene and used the bathroom of the local Supermac’s takeaway to clean himself up. There was blood found in the basin of the toilet by staff who alerted Gardaí.
The accused left the jurisdiction for Northern Ireland but on June 10, 2020, was discovered hiding in the back of a car that was stopped in the Ballyhaunis area.
A medical report noted that Mr Ryan was “fortunate to have escaped with his life” following the attack. He sustained permanent facial scarring in the incident.
In a victim impact statement that was read out in court, Mr Ryan said he thought he was “going to die” that night.
Cleary, a father of two, has 12 previous convictions for motoring offences.
Defending barrister Niall Flynn said his client witnessed his father die in a road accident and this has had a profound impact on him.
Cleary told the Probation Service that he had been taunted before the attack but now accepts his actions were unprovoked.
Judge Eoin Garavan said this was a “most serious and savage assault". He jailed Cleary for four years with the final year suspended.
