Courts / Dublin / Report
Sisters get community service for "nasty" attack on mum in front of baby
Summary
Shauna Culligan and Nicola Culligan were sentenced in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for assaults committed outside SuperValu, Balally shopping centre, on November 18, 2016. Shauna Culligan pleaded guilty to assault and assault causing harm, while Nicola Culligan pleaded guilty to assault causing harm on the same occasion. Judge Melanie Greally described the incident as an "extremely nasty incident of violence" arising from considerable hostility between the parties. The court heard that the injured party was assaulted in front of her baby son, an aggravating factor noted by the judge. Both defendants received 12-month probation bonds. Nicola Culligan was ordered to complete 240 hours of community service in lieu of two years' imprisonment. Shauna Culligan was ordered to complete 200 hours of community service in lieu of 18 months' imprisonment. Both sisters were directed to engage in offence-focused and victim-focused work as directed by Probation Services and to undergo anger management awareness and intervention training. The judge credited their early guilty pleas, their status as mothers of young children, and their difficult childhoods. Nicola Culligan has minor convictions for road offences, while Shauna Culligan has no previous convictions. The matter was finalised with these sentences.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Sisters get community service for "nasty" attack on mum in front of baby. Charges or matters: assault and assault causing harm outside SuperValu, Balally shopping centre, Dublin on November 18, 2016; assault causing harm on the same occasion. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- November 18, 2016 Incident
- 2019-05-27 Publication
Why: The judge gave the Culligans credit for their very early pleas of guilty, for the fact that they were both mothers of young children, and because they had not had easy childhoods. CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: assault causing harm on the same occasion (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Passing sentence today, Judge Melanie Greally said there was a backdrop of "considerable hostility" between the parties which had spilled over into an "extremely nasty incident of violence".
Defendant
Charges: assault and assault causing harm outside SuperValu, Balally shopping centre, Dublin on November 18, 2016; assault causing harm on the same occasion (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Places mentioned
Topics
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