Michael Lyons has assault sentence cut to two years and three months

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

Michael Lyons had his sentence for assault causing serious harm reduced to two years and three months in prison by the Court of Appeal on 18 May 2017. Mr Justice Hedigan delivered the judgment, which ordered the sentence to begin on 9 June 2016.

Lyons pleaded guilty to assault causing serious harm on 24 March 2015. He was sentenced to four years in prison at Donegal Town Circuit Criminal Court on 9 June 2016.

The assault occurred at Quiggs Bar in Carrick, County Donegal, on 12 October 2013. Lyons and the injured man, Mr Byrne, had been drinking heavily and had become quite drunk.

Lyons said he felt Mr Byrne was swinging for him and reeled back. He threw several punches, and there was some dispute over whether they made contact. He then punched Mr Byrne again, causing him to fall and hit his head on a wooden floor. The final punch resulted in the injury.

Mr Byrne suffered a fractured skull, among other injuries. Symptoms of post-traumatic amnesia suggested a traumatic brain injury of at least moderate severity; the judgment described the injury as serious, permanent and irreversible.

Lyons stayed and assisted after the assault. He contacted Mr Byrne's family that night, apologised the next day and later made a voluntary statement with full admissions. He had no previous convictions and offered €13,000 in compensation, which Mr Byrne's wife refused.

The appeal court agreed that the offence fell at the lower end of the middle range of seriousness. It fixed a headline sentence of four years and six months and reduced that by half to reflect the mitigating factors.