James Mooney given fully suspended prison term for ear assault

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

At Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Judge Desmond Hogan imposed a four-year prison term on James Mooney, suspending all of it for three years.

Mooney pleaded guilty to assault causing harm. The proceedings were reported on 18 April 2015. The offence took place on 1 April 2013 at a GAA club on Sean Moore Road in Ringsend.

Judge Hogan made the suspension conditional on 12 months of compliance with probation services. The court also heard that Mooney was to pay James Ferrari €5,000 to demonstrate his remorse.

Mooney struck Ferrari's head and then bit his ear, tearing away part of it. Ferrari told gardaí he was leaving the club when Mooney punched him in the face. He said he raised his arms to protect his face before feeling a hard bite to his ear.

A doctor told the court that adult ADHD contributed to the assault, which happened late at night. In his victim impact report, Ferrari described worry and depression following the attack.

Judge Hogan said Ferrari's injuries were serious. He said Mooney was fortunate he had not faced a charge of assault causing serious harm, an offence with a more severe penalty.