The Court of Appeal has replaced a fully suspended sentence imposed on Nicholas O’Neill for assault causing harm and producing an article capable of inflicting serious injury with a sentence requiring him to serve two years and six months in prison, subject to credit for qualifying time on remand.
The judgment, delivered by Mr Justice Edwards on 12 November 2024, arose from an application by the Director of Public Prosecutions to review the sentence as unduly lenient. O’Neill had pleaded guilty to both offences. He was acquitted at trial of a separate charge of threatening to kill arising from the same incident.
The offences occurred on 20 June 2020 in New Ross. Evidence at sentencing was that O’Neill attacked Mark Foley with a glass bottle and punched him while Foley was out with his eight-month-old son in a pram. Foley received seven stitches for a head wound. A medical report said he was likely to have a permanent facial scar. Foley’s victim impact statement described continuing fear and anxiety after the assault.
In June 2023, the Circuit Criminal Court at Wexford imposed 12 months’ imprisonment on each guilty count, fully suspended for two years. The conditions included staying away from Foley and people associated with him, maintaining sober habits and keeping the peace under a €1,500 bond.
The Court of Appeal concluded that the sentence was unduly lenient and represented a substantial departure from the norm. It found there was not enough evidence to justify suspending the entire sentence for rehabilitation. The court pointed to O’Neill’s previous convictions, including four for assault, and the fact that he offended while a suspended sentence for a threat to kill or cause serious harm was in force. It also said there was no evidence of meaningful steps to address his drinking or anger-management problems.
On resentencing, the court set a four-year headline sentence for each offence. It treated the offences as unprovoked, committed during the suspended sentence, involving a weapon and carried out in the presence of a small child. It also considered the medical and photographic evidence and Foley’s impact statement.
The court allowed an 18-month reduction for mitigation, including O’Neill’s guilty pleas, employment record and financial support for his children. It suspended the final 18 months of the four-year sentence. The two-year suspension period begins on release, with conditions requiring him to stay away from Foley and his family, maintain sobriety and keep the peace under the same bond. The judgment says he is to receive credit for any remand time served solely in relation to these offences.