Man (18) gets four years for assault

AN 18-YEAR-OLD Killarney man has been handed a four-year sentence for a "horrific" attack on a Cork man who lost his way in a Killarney laneway after a Christmas party.

At the Circuit Criminal Court in Tralee, Shane O'Riordan, Arbutus Grove, Killarney, admitted assault causing harm to Graham Geasley on December 16th, 2006.

A concerned citizen found Mr Geasley lying on the ground in a laneway near the Brooklodge Hotel off High Street, "choking and vomiting blood" at about 3.30am, the court was told. He had been kicked and beaten and suffered traumatic head injury, a fractured jaw and ended up in a coma for 10 days.

He spent two months in hospital and had to learn to speak and walk again. He was out of work for seven months and missed his son's first Christmas and his wife had to give up work to look after their baby.

Mr Geasley had come to Killarney with work colleagues from Macroom for their Christmas party. He left his baggage in his car and was trying to retrieve it but went down the wrong laneway, Garda Mark Bolger said. O'Riordan had been drinking with a group of four, including two underage females. He had drunk a litre of vodka and was consuming Southern Comfort, he later admitted to gardaí.

They all kicked Mr Geasley, but O'Riordan kicked him in the ribs and punched him in the face. Nearby residents heard screams of pain, and a few people giggling and running away. Judge Carroll Moran said the injuries were horrific. The court was told O'Riordan had a number of convictions including assault and was currently serving prison sentences.