A 23-year-old man found guilty of violent disorder and sentenced to three years in prison after getting into a “savage” late-night altercation at a snooker club.
During the incident, Sean Carlyle was a member of a group that utilized metal security poles, bottles, and snooker cues as weapons. The court saw CCTV footage of the altercation
A 23-year-old man involved in a “savage” late night brawl in a snooker club has been given an three-year sentence for violent disorder.
Sean Carlyle was part of a group who used snooker cues, bottles, and metal security poles as weapons during the incident. CCTV of the brawl was shown to the court.
Carlyle, of Donomore Avenue, Tallaght, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to violent disorder and production of articles at Kusanta Snooker Club, Killinarden Way, Tallaght on December 22, 2013.
Two other accused men are still before the courts and a fourth, Christopher Wynne, has died.
The three injured parties – two males and a female – did not make victim impact statements.
Garda Aidan Ferris told the court he was aware one of the male victims received stab wounds to the lung and back. The second man suffered two broken arms.
The two men and the female victim all required staples to wounds on their heads. There were no medical reports in court.
Judge Melanie Greally said the group had engaged in “extreme acts of violence” using various implements. She imposed a three-year sentence and suspended the final year.
Garda Ferris told Noel Devitt BL, prosecuting, that gardaí had been alerted to an incident at the club and on their arrival they saw four males running into the Killinarden estate.
Inside the club they found the two injured men and a female with a cut to the top of her head. There was considerable damage to the inside of the premises.
Staff told gardaí that there had been two groups on the premises – four men in Carlyle’s group and a second group of two men and two women.
One male member of each group had gone to the toilets prior to the assault and had come out talking before rejoining their groups.
The incident appeared to begin when Wynne from Carlyle’s group then approached the other group with an object that appeared to be a knife. This was broken up by staff and Wynne was put outside the door.
Carlyle’s group armed themselves with snooker cues and bottles and, as the incident continued, Wynne noticed the commotion inside and kicked in the door to get back inside.
Carlyle was seen to use a snooker cue to strike out at the victims and when it broke he continued to use the stub of the stick in a stabbing motion.
He also picked up an approximately 20kg metal security barrier which he carried around and used to strike a man on the ground.
One of the male victims attempted to take sanctuary behind the club bar, but Carlyle jumped the counter, striking and punching him before stamping down on the man’s head.
Staff who had locked themselves in a kitchen called gardaí who arrived as Carlyle’s group left.
Garda Ferris agreed with Shaun Smyth BL, defending, that both groups had been drinking for most of the afternoon.
He agreed that one of the other group struck Carlyle four times to the top of the head.
Mr Smyth said Carlyle had a sporadic work history in the building and industrial cleaning trades and was interested in pursuing a sports-based college course. He submitted that his client was a young man with plans to improve himself and volunteered as a coach with a soccer club.
He said there was no prospect of minimising his clients “savage” behaviour during the brawl.
He said alcohol and cocaine use had formeda “heady mix”, fuelling the later aggression. He noted that Carlyle was also unemployed at the time of the offence.
Counsel submitted Wynne appeared to re-enter the premises at the same time as Carlyle was hit by one of the other group and the more serious part of the incident then ensued.
He said that Carlyle had suffered a number of tragedies in his family during the period around the offence, including the death of his cousin Dale Creighton.
