James Ahearne receives suspended sentence for assault

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

James Ahearne received an 18-month sentence, suspended in full, for assaulting his brother at their home in Terenure, Dublin. The proceedings were reported on 19 December 2018.

Ahearne pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting his brother, Mark Ahearne, causing him harm on 2 August, 2 September and 5 September 2017. The court heard that medical reports recorded a fractured bone in Mark Ahearne’s arm from one assault and bruising on his ribs from another.

Mark Ahearne told gardaí that his brother had kicked him in the back, hit him with a spade handle and assaulted him with a mop handle in separate incidents. Garda Tony Galway said gardaí were called to the home on 24 September 2017. Mark Ahearne withdrew his complaint in October 2017.

Garda Galway agreed with Ahearne’s lawyers that he had been allowed back into the home to care for his brother and that the garda knew of no further incidents. James Ahearne continued to be his brother’s carer.

Judge Melanie Greally described the case as caregiver stress. She noted Mark Ahearne’s significant psychiatric condition and that the assaults occurred while James Ahearne was experiencing bereavement, family strife and a sense of abandonment as his brother’s sole carer. She took account of his co-operation, lack of relevant previous convictions and work with services.

The judge suspended the sentence on condition that Ahearne take any support he required as a carer. She also ordered 12 months of Probation Service supervision and directed him to take up all assistance offered for his employment and accommodation needs.