Courts / Dublin / Report

Pensioner attacked neighbour's dad with pitchfork over wall row

Summary

Brian Mullen, aged 77, was convicted by a jury at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in February 2022 of assaulting John Wayne with a pitchfork during a dispute over the demolition of a boundary wall. The assault took place on 13 April 2019 at Wayne's address and caused facial injury and a fractured leg. Mullen was also found guilty of production of an article and endangerment at the same address on the same date. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and had no prior convictions. Judge Elma Sheahan imposed a fully suspended custodial sentence of 20 months, conditioned on Mullen having no contact with the victim. The judge cited his age, remorse, good record and the €10,000 he brought to court as a demonstration of remorse. The court noted that Mullen had contacted Gardaí twice before the incident and again on the day of the assault, and that he accepted the jury verdict and expressed remorse.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Pensioner attacked neighbour's dad with pitchfork over wall row. Charges or matters: all of the charges and has no previous convictions. Procedural stage: sentence. Findings: Convicted

When:

• February 2022 Hearing Or Sentence
• April 13, 2019 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2022-10-05 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Sentence Violent Crime

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Read the original CNI report