Man knocked unconscious in Portlaoise assault

A labourer knocked another man unconscious in a one punch assault in Portlaoise. 

Eoghan Byrne, 39, of 19 Parnell Crescent, Knockmay, Portlaoise admitted assaulting a man at Market Square, Portlaoise on June 6 last. He also admitted driving without insurance or licence at  Berryridge Avenue, Maryborough Village, Portlaoise on June 20 last. 

Garda Sergeant JJ Kirby said Portlaoise Gardai were alerted to a report of an unconscious male at the square following an assault at 11.50pm on June 6. 

“CCTV identified Eoghan Byrne as hitting the injured party,” said Sgt Kirby. 

“He was knocked unconscious but he woke up,” Sgt Kirby told the sitting of Portlaoise District Court. 

He said the injured party didn’t want to make a statement of complaint against the defendant. 

Sgt Kirby said that on June 20 the defendant was stopped while driving at Maryborough Village at 8.30am. He said the defendant had no licence or insurance at the time and has 16 previous convictions.

Judge Andrew Cody noted the man had received a disqualification and a three month suspended sentence on June 12. 

“Eight days later he was out driving again,” said Judge Cody, who said a suspended sentence “means nothing” to the defendant.  

Solicitor Philip Meagher said his client was a labourer who worked in the building trade who was “rarely” out of work. 

In relation to the assault, Mr Meagher said there had been a previous incident between the injured party and one of his client’s children and words were exchanged.

“Mr Byrne reacted poorly and a blow was struck,” he said. 

Mr Meagher acknowledged that one blow can result in “catastrophic” consequences but said thankfully that had not been the case. 

“He wishes to apologise for that,” he said. 

In relation to the motoring incident, Mr Meagher said his client who was normally driven to work but didn’t have a lift. He said the defendant was in a “desperate” situation where he needed to get to work. 

“It was a case of him going on a jolly, to use the colloquial phrase,” said Mr Meagher. 

 Judge Cody noted the assaulted man had been knocked unconscious. 

“This is a serious assault even though the injured party doesn’t want to cooperate,” he said. 

Judge Cody sentenced the man to three months in prison for the assault. Noting the uninsured driving occurred eight days after a disqualification, Judge Cody fined the man €500, banned him from driving for ten years and jailed him for a further four months. He fined the man a further €200 for driving without a license and fixed recognisance in case of appeal.