A man was jailed for five years at the Central Criminal Court yesterday for the manslaughter of a 21-year-old sailor who drowned after he was thrown overboard from the Naval Service flagship, the LE Eithne.
Sean Lundon (21), James Connolly Park, Tipperary, was jailed for the manslaughter of a fellow crewman, Able Seaman Brian Gorey (21), Castletroy View, Limerick, at Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin, on April 22nd, 2001.
The court also heard that two months after Mr Gorey's death, while out on bail Lundon assaulted a man in Tipperary town, causing him serious harm. He pleaded guilty to charges of assault and assault causing harm and awaits sentencing in Clonmel Circuit Court.
Passing sentence, Mr Justice Carney said the killing of Brian Gorey was one of the most difficult cases he had ever dealt with and it was "frightening" that such gratuitous violence was now set off by drink alone.
"It is frightening that it [drinking alcohol] is going to lead to this without the involvement of cannabis," he said. He said Brian Gorey posed no threat to anyone on the night he was savagely beaten and propelled overboard for "a reason that is not clear and probably never will be".
During the trial last month Lundon denied murdering his crewmate, who could not swim. He admitted to gardaí that he hit him with a ceramic ashtray and broke a brush handle on his head during a row, but claimed he took the deceased up on deck for air and that he "slipped away" into the water and drowned.
Evidence was heard that both men had drunk a lot on the night in question in a number of pubs in the city. They continued drinking onboard with a group of crew members until almost 5 a.m. when Lundon was the last person in the recreational room with Mr Gorey, who was sleeping on the couch.
Lundon, who did not give direct evidence in the case, first told gardai that Mr Gorey woke up and threw an ashtray at him. But in a later statement he said he "lost the head" because Mr Gorey annoyed him when he tried to wake him up.
After he punched him and hit him with the ashtray and broom handle Lundon picked Mr Gorey up and carried him to the deck.
"He was struggling, slapping out at me. I pushed him back hard into the chest, and he went over the rail".
He said he called out for help before panicking and going to his cabin. His defence, led by Mr Brendan Grehan SC, said Lundon never intended for his crew mate to go overboard.
When Mr Gorey was spotted struggling in the water by one member of the crew a "man overboard" alarm was raised. A lifeboat reached him within minutes, but he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.
A number of young sailors who were drinking in the room with Lundon and Mr Gorey in the hours before the incident gave evidence that there was no hostility between the two men and that Mr Gorey was in "great form".
The Deputy State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, told the trial that a post-mortem established that Mr Gorey was assaulted before he went overboard, but that he died from drowning.