Paul Gill jailed for assaulting Patrick Kelly in Naas

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

Paul Gill was jailed for 2½ years at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for assaulting Patrick Kelly. Judge Melanie Greally imposed the sentence on 18 December 2017 and took Gill’s assault on Martin Curtis into account.

Gill pleaded guilty to assaulting Patrick “Patsy” Kelly and Martin Curtis. He pleaded not guilty to unlawfully killing Kelly and was acquitted of manslaughter after a six-day trial in November 2017. The proceedings were reported on 18 December 2017.

The assaults occurred on 22 August 2015. The jury heard that the row concerned late-night drinking and noise at Curtis’s home on Sarto Road, Naas. Detective Garda Enda Coleman agreed with the defence that Gill had a vague recollection of what happened because he had been drinking, but had answered all questions and admitted the assaults.

Judge Greally said Kelly was vulnerable and intoxicated, had been taken by surprise and was unable to defend himself. She noted that he had been kicked in the head while on the ground. She considered Gill’s guilty plea, admissions and remorse in mitigation, and said his bail conditions had a punitive effect: he had to stay out of Kildare except at weekends, when he could visit his family within their home.

Postmortem evidence at the trial showed that Kelly died from heart disease, with minor trauma from the assault contributing to his death. Judge Greally accepted that Gill could not have known of Kelly’s heart condition.