A Killarney man who became involved in a fight in the presence of a First Holy Communion party has been spared prison time.
The sentencing hearing of 30-year-old Arthur O’Brien, of Bay 1, Upper Site, St Michael’s Halting Site in Killarney, took place at Tralee Circuit Court.
Mr O’Brien pleaded guilty to two charges of violent disorder relating to an incident at the Kingdom Greyhound Stadium in Tralee on May 26th, 2018.
The court heard Mr O’Brien has 60 previous convictions, and spent 84 days in prison in the UK for battery.
The court heard that two groups, known to each other, were finishing drinks at the same bar upstairs at the race track after racing had finished.
One group contained Mr O’Brien, and the other included cousins Robin McCarthy and Stephen McCarthy from Tralee and Listowel respectively.
Stills from the stadium’s HD CCTV cameras presented to the court, showed the McCarthys approached Mr O’Brien before Robin McCarthy punched Mr O’Brien in the face.
Detective Sergeant John Gilmartin said the cameras showed a First Holy Communion party was there at the same bar, with young children watching the violence that ensued.
After a female staff member broke up the fight, it sparked up again at the main exit of the stadium, where Sgt Gilmartin told the court Robin McCarthy and Arthur O’Brien were “beating the heads off each other”.
Punches were exchanged between Mr O’Brien and Robin McCarthy, before Stephen McCarthy joined in and the court heard the tables were then turned on Mr O’Brien.
Mr O’Brien ran back into the stadium to get away from the two men, and suffered a fractured nose in the kicks and punches he received when they forced their way in the door.
They further pursued him into the toilets, when the fight stopped as the manager of the stadium came in and told them the gardaí were on their way.
Robin McCarthy and Stephen McCarthy were previously convicted and given suspended two-year prison sentences for their actions that night.
Defending barrister Katie O’Connell said Mr O’Brien was sorry, and was aware the Holy Communion party wanted other entertainment that night.
Ms O’Connell said her client has four young children, and is the main carer for his wheelchair-bound son.
Sgt Gilmartin acknowledged that Mr O’Brien was not the instigator of the initial violence, and he was the least culpable of the three parties given the injuries sustained.
Judge Sinead Behan told Mr O’Brien his son needs a responsible father, and he was not responsible that night.
He was sentenced to two years, suspended for two years, on both counts.
