A man who stabbed another man after a boxing contest, and later made a threat to kill a third man during which he fired a shotgun, has been sentenced to seven years in jail by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Richard McCann (21), St Joseph's Park, Dunsink Lane, Finglas, Dublin, pleaded guilty to assaulting Simon O'Donnell causing him harm at St Philomena's halting site, Ballycoolin, on March 23rd, 2005.
McCann, a Traveller, also pleaded guilty to making a threat to Steven Collins that he would kill Martin Collins and to possession of a sawn-off shotgun at St Joseph's Park on November 26th, 2006.
Luigi Rea BL, defending, said the offences were related to inter-family feuding concerning land the families were squatting on in the Dunsink area.
Judge Katherine Delahunt suspended the final two years of the sentence and said were it not for McCann's young age and genuine remorse the sentence would have been "significantly higher".
Garda Bernard Connaughton told Bernard Condon BL, prosecuting, that Mr O'Donnell was challenged to a boxing match at St Philomena's halting site by a relative of McCann's. During the match there was some banter between the parties about relatives.
Afterwards Mr O'Donnell bent down and saw McCann, who had been an observer, coming at him with a steak knife. McCann stabbed Mr O'Donnell twice in the back. He suffered a collapsed lung and two wounds to his back.
Det Garda Brendan Burgan agreed with Mr Rea that the offence had arisen from a fight the two men had on that night and "fences had now been mended".