Courts / Dublin / Report
Severe alcoholic avoids jail for slashing McDonald's security guard
Summary
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing on 24 June 2021, Clive Kavanagh, aged 51, pleaded guilty to assaulting a McDonald's security guard, Kennedy Miranda, on 25 October 2018. Kavanagh used a box‑cutter to slash Miranda's hand while attempting to force entry into the restaurant. Miranda suffered a wound that required sutures and left a scar. Kavanagh also faced a second charge of producing a knife during the incident. The judge noted Kavanagh's history of offending, severe alcoholism, liver transplant, and deteriorating cognitive function. Despite the seriousness of the offence, the judge imposed a suspended sentence of two and a half years imprisonment, fully suspended, for the assault, taking the knife‑producing charge into account. The sentence was given with the expectation that Kavanagh would not reappear in court.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Severe alcoholic avoids jail for slashing McDonald's security guard. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- October 25, 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2021-06-24 Publication
Why: Kavanagh told gardaí he was covered in blood when he went to McDonald's was because he had been drinking in the Mountjoy Square area that day and had been "attacked" earlier. CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: The offence "would normally attract a custodial sentence", she said, but Kavanagh is clearly "a vulnerable person". She imposed a sentence of two and a half years imprisonment, suspended in full, for the assault on Mr Miranda, with the charge of producing the knife taken into account. "He's 51 years of age now and I sincerely hope I will not see Mr Kavanagh again." "Thanks, your honour," he said.
Places mentioned
- Swords
- Swords Road
- Upper O'Connell Street
- Mountjoy Square
- Dublin
- Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
Topics
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