A Tralee man with 300 previous convictions has been jailed for two years for an unprovoked town centre attack, on a man who refused to give him a can of beer.
42-year-old Maurice Roche, formerly of an address in Tralee pleaded guilty to one count of assault causing harm to a 58-year-old man, and one count of theft of a can of beer.
Both offences arise from the one incident in The Square, Tralee, earlier this year.
CCTV footage shown in Tralee Circuit Court showed Maurice Roche approach this man in The Square, Tralee, just after 8pm on 30th May this year.
The court heard this man, who was not known to Mr Roche, was a 58-year-old retiree who was carrying a few cans of beer home in a plastic bag at the time.
Mr Roche asked the man for a can of beer, and when he refused, Mr Roche pushed him to the ground.
The man got up again, and words were exchanged, before Mr Roche punched the man just above the eye, causing him to fall back and hit his head on the ground.
Patrons in the nearby An Chearnóg pub came to the man’s aid, while Mr Roche took a can of beer and attempted to open it in the vicinity, but the can sprayed all over him.
The court heard the man was bleeding from the back of the head from the impact of hitting the ground, and he had a mark above his eye, but he has since recovered.
Prosecuting barrister Tom Rice told the court Mr Roche has over 300 previous convictions, including 105 for public intoxication.
Defending Mr Roche, barrister Katie O’Connell said the matter was borne out of his addiction to alcohol.
She said alcohol is his demon, but he is very apologetic and remorseful.
Judge Ronan Munro said it appears Mr Roche is wasting his life unfortunately, and the fact the man fell back and hit his head on the ground means this could have had much more serious consequences.
He said the fact Mr Roche entered a signed guilty plea early, saving the injured party from having to give evidence, was the primary mitigating factor.
He set a headline sentence of five years for the assault causing harm, reducing this to three and a half years.
Judge Munro suspended the final 18 months of this, on condition that Mr Roche keeps the peace and stays sober for five years.
Speaking directly to Mr Roche, he said public intoxication and roaring and shouting on the street, is a clear breach of those conditions.
