Jail for attack on garda with glass bottle

A Dublin man has been sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment following his assault on a garda with a glass bottle. Christopher Reilly (28) pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting Garda Daniel Sweeney, causing him harm, on Ratoath Road, Cabra, on 10 November 2015. During the incident, Reilly swung a glass bottle at the garda, causing a serious leg wound that required thirteen stitches and resulted in permanent sensory loss. The victim, in a statement read to the court, described losing considerable blood and being unable to walk for a month following the attack. Judge Melanie Greally imposed a three and a half year sentence with the final twelve months suspended, noting the assault fell within the upper range of seriousness. She ordered Reilly to complete any violent offender programme directed by the Probation Service and to address his drug use. Reilly has sixty-seven previous convictions.