A man sitting in his car outside a petrol station suffered serious head injuries after he was attacked by a ‘hit squad’ with a slash hook and a machete, a court has heard.
The victim suffered skull crush fractures and lost nearly two litres of blood when he was set upon by two men who had waited for 45 minutes for him at the garage, a court has heard.
‘This was a hit squad, ready to inflict as much violence as possible,’ said Judge Eoin Garavan at a sitting of Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court yesterday/WEDNESDAY.
Tommy Sweeney (23) of Castlepark, Ballybane, Co Galway, was sentenced to four years in prison with the final year suspended.
He had pleaded guilty to assault causing harm and producing a weapon at Corrib Oil service station, Neale Road, Ballinrobe, Co Mayo on January 31, 2023.
Judge Garavan said three years in prison was ‘not sufficient’ for this ‘appalling act’ but noted that Sweeney has stayed out of trouble since this offence and is soon to become a father.
The court heard previous sentencing rules limited the judge to imposing a maximum five-year sentence for assault causing harm, but that under the current system, the maximum term has increased to ten years.
The court heard that this was the 17th violent incident in an ongoing feud between families from the travelling community in Galway and Mayo.
Detective Garda Sinéad Ganly told Patrick Reynolds BL, prosecuting, that she arrived at the scene on the day to find a large pool of blood just inside the door of the filling station.
A Toyota Avensis was parked in the forecourt with its driver window smashed.
CCTV footage was played in court showing another car arriving at the station some 45 minutes before the attack and continuously parking and moving to different places in the garage.
The video showed Sweeney holding a machete and another unidentified man wielding a slash hook, both with covered faces covered, breaking the window of the victim’s car and hitting him with their weapons.
The injured party managed to get out of the passenger door and run into the garage where he fell on the floor.
The victim suffered two large lacerations measuring 10cm and 6cm on both sides of his skull, along with significant skull fractures.
He was unconscious for between 3 and 5 minutes and was transferred to Castlebar Hospital and from there to Beaumont Hospital where he was given a CT scan, sutures and a neck brace.
‘This was a significant skull fracture with extremely life-threatening injuries,’ said Judge Garavan, noting that the injured party had not wanted to submit a victim impact report.
Garda Ganly said the victim had not updated them on his progress but seemed to be doing ok.
The getaway car was found crashed near Cloughan’s Hill on the Galway-Mayo border.
Sweeney was identified from finger prints after he laid his hand on the roof of the victim’s car.
The court heard that the vast bulk of the injuries were inflicted by the slash hook wielded by the other, still unidentified co-accused man.
Judge Garavan said that while Sweeney didn’t get an opportunity to use the machete, he could been seen thrusting it towards the victim.
‘I regard this as common design. This was a joint enterprise by these two men. It doesn’t reduce moral culpability because Sweeney’s weapon was not used,’ said the judge.
Sweeney has several previous convictions including drink driving, theft and obstruction of a police officer.
Paul Carroll SC, defending, said Sweeney was misusing alcohol and benzodiazepines at the time, but has since addressed his substance abuse.
A probation report placed Sweeney at moderate risk of reoffending, but said he understood the seriousness of the offence and its impact on the victim and did not seek to minimise his role.
The court heard Sweeney has suffered from depression and anxiety and is diabetic.
He has completed a number of courses including an Alternative to Violence programme, manual handling and others run by Traveller Mediation Services.
Counsel said Sweeney has moved away from certain influences within the wider family group and has kept a low profile.
Sweeney’s parents were present in court along with his pregnant wife.
The probation report said there had been family pressure on Sweeney to get caught up in the feud, but Judge Garvan said he should have withstood this pressure.
‘He was old enough to know the difference between right and wrong. There was a machete and a slash hook left in the car. He knew his mission and he carried it out,” said Judge Garavan.
Sweeney was ordered to undergo a year of probation supervision on his release, to remain alcohol and substance free and to engage in training and employment as directed.