A man has been spared a jail sentence for attacking a student who later had to receive 41 stitches to the back of his head.
Declan McGowan (24) was convicted of assault causing harm to Thomas Carter but acquitted of the more serious charge of assault causing serious harm after he had pleaded not guilty.
The trial heard Mr Carter required brain surgery and suffered from bleeding within the skull. Last month the victim told the court he did not want McGowan to go prison and described him as “a culprit with a conscience”.
Yesterday the pair shook hands outside Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. After the assault on Grafton Street McGowan, of North Circular Road, Dublin, told a nearby paramedic what happened.
He also rang the hospital and a journalist who wrote about it to check on Mr Carter’s condition. Judge Patricia Ryan took this into account when she imposed a three-year suspended sentence.
She also ordered McGowan to do 60 hours community service if he is found suitable and to undergo a year of probation supervision.
Garda Amy Kelly told Garret Baker, prosecuting, that Mr Carter and two friends had been drinking following the Champions League final.
An argument developed between Mr Carter and a rickshaw driver on Grafton Street when two of his friends ran away without paying. During the argument, Mr Carter knocked the driver’s hat off. McGowan then “came out of nowhere” and punched Mr Carter, who fell and knocked his head against the ground.
McGowan was a friend of the rickshaw driver and mistakenly thought Mr Carter had struck him. McGowan then walked away as the victim lay unconscious. He was chased by a friend of Mr Carter’s and there was another altercation before McGowan left the scene.
The court heard that McGowan became worried about his victim and ran to a nearby ambulance to report the injury. Mr Carter regained consciousness and went to his girlfriend’s house. Gardaí were not alerted on the night. The victim later became unwell.