A SKIBBEREEN man who assaulted his brother-in-law was given a four-month prison sentence suspended for 12 months.

Sgt James Crowley told Skibbereen District Court that Mark Kingston called to the garda station on November 26th 2024 and made a formal complaint against Paul Ryan (46) of Rose Cottage, Townshend Street, Skibbereen.

Initially four charges of assault causing harm were brought against Paul Ryan, but two were struck out, and one was reduced to a lesser charge of common assault.

The sergeant said the injured party had been out socialising with his wife earlier on the night of November 11th, but he went on to listen to music at The Tanyard.

Both men were in the pub but there was no interaction because the two men had not been on speaking terms for some time.

‘They left the bar separately and a short time later, at about 11.20pm, an altercation took place on Main Street,’ said Sgt Crowley.

‘Mark Kingston said he was knocked to the ground and while on his hands and knees received a number of kicks to the head and chest. He moved to the footpath and was again knocked to the ground and sustained a number of punches. And outside the supermarket there was another minor altercation,’ he stated.

CCTV footage was obtained and it was established that there were no independent witnesses to the assault, but two people subsequently helped to break it up.

Defence solicitor Éamonn Fleming said his client was not denying the assaults, and he pointed out there have been no further incidents between the two men.

He said Mr Ryan is a building contractor and that the two men fell out after his client successfully repaired the injured man’s roof.

Mr Fleming said Mark Kingston – who was not in court when the case was dealt with – hadn’t paid the balance of the bill, a sum of €3,000.

The solicitor said the work was done in 2022 and it was only in February 2024, when his client issued legal proceedings, that the bill was settled without having to go to court. Mr Fleming made the allegation that his client had been provoked somewhat on the night, but in a show of amends had brought a letter of apology and €1,000 in compensation to court.

In mitigation, he said his client had only one previous conviction and that was when he was given the benefit of the Probation Act on a charge of being drunk in a public place 24 years ago.

Judge Carroll read both the victim impact statement and the medical report and noted that the injured party had sustained bruising and tenderness, but there was no fracturing or loss of consciousness.

She commented on the fact that there was ‘a history between them’ and that Paul Ryan felt aggrieved because he wasn’t paid in full for the roofing job he had done and had to issue proceedings against his brother-in-law.

Judge Carroll said Paul Ryan had ‘committed an error of judgement on the night. You can’t knock a man to the ground and kick him’.

Given his previous good character, the judge imposed a four-month sentence but suspended it for 12 months. And she marked the lesser common assault charge proven but taken into consideration.

The judge told Mr Fleming: ‘The issue of compensation doesn’t arise.’

Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme.