Two young men appear before District Court for vicious assault

Two young men were back Galway District Court this week about an assault that left one victim with a fractured cheekbone and eye socket, and another with a broken nose.

Evan Deacy (20), of 58 Ard Alainn, Ballybane and his co-accused Aidan Coyle (20), living at 250 Castlepark, Ballybane were part of a group of people of people that assaulted two students outside Supermac’s in in Eyre Square on February 4, 2016.

Deacy and Coyle, who both pleaded guilty, had been ordered by the court at their last appearance to pay €5,000 in compensation each for the harm they caused Ross O’Connor and Jamie Rourke.

Judge Fahy this week condemned the assaults as “vicious” and “uncalled for” and pointed out the seriousness of the injuries the two victims suffered.

Ross O’Connor, who suffered a fractured cheekbone and eye socket previously gave evidence about how his injuries had affected him

Jamie Rourke, who did not come to court in February, submitted a victim impact statement in writing this week.

Rourke’s statement said that he wasn’t able to work for 12 days after the attack because of a badly swollen black eye.

Judge Fahy considered whether the compensation should be divided based on the seriousness of the injuries suffered, but ultimately decided to order it split evenly between the two victims.

Deacy had brought €2,000 in compensation to his last appearance, and paid the balance of what he owed today.

A probation report for Deacy was also received by the court, which his representative said showed he was at a very low risk of re-offending.

Judge Fahy was not impressed by the additional statement that Mr. Deacy was celebrating his 18th birthday the night of the assault and would never be able to remember it positively.

“Every night in this city people are celebrating their 18th, or 20th, or 70th birthday.” she said, adding that most do not celebrate by committing assault.

She gave Deacy a €500 fine for each of the assault offences with six months to pay.

Coyle, who did not bring any compensation to his last appearance, paid in court today.

Judge Fahy accepted his representative’s application for a probation report for his client and adjourned the case to July 11.