THREE YOUTHS who attacked a medical student after throwing eggs at him on a Dublin street have been ordered to carry out work in the community.
A local teacher put a stop to the attack after shouting at the group that she recognised them. She later told gardaí that it looked like the gang “wanted to bring him to the ground, to finish him off”.
A fourth youth has been remanded in custody pending sentence next month at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Marcus Gantley (18), Glovers Court, Seán Macken (18), Iveagh Trust, Kevin Street, and brothers Steven (19) and David Wynne (22), Montague Court, were all arrested after gardaí viewed CCTV footage and the teacher helped to identify them. None of the them has previous convictions.
Their victim, Michael Galvin, suffered a cut to his eyebrow, two black eyes, a swollen lip and two chipped teeth. He told gardaí he was lucky to leave without any serious head injuries.
Gantley, the Wynne brothers and Macken all pleaded guilty to violent disorder on Wexford Street on January 9th, 2011. They were each ordered to carry out 240 hours of community service in lieu of a two-year sentence.
Gantley has since pleaded guilty to assault causing harm and production of a blade in a separate incident on Wexford Street on January 8th, 2011.
Judge Martin Nolan adjourned his case to April and remanded him in custody, saying: “He must learn that there are no free passes in life, there’s a price to be paid for everything. This was a despicable attack on a young man. Credit to the teacher for stepping in.”
Judge Nolan indicated that he had considered community service because the three had no previous convictions and he believed everyone was entitled to a chance “to some degree”.
The court heard that in the earlier incident, Gantley and three others attacked another group of youths in a fast food restaurant.