Four men who attended a Mass for the victims of the sunken trawler the St Gervais in Castletownbere, Co Cork, ended up getting into a fight with another man, forcing him to jump into the sea to escape .
Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard yesterday that Mr Thomas O'Halloran was involved in a row with four men on November 24th, 2001.
Jamie O'Driscoll, and Michael and Mark Harrington, all St Martin's Avenue, Castletownbere, and Tom Hendricks, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, had met up to attend a Mass for three fisherman who died.
The row between the four and Mr O'Halloran occurred at a nightclub. It escalated outside the club, and the men chased Mr O'Halloran towards Castletownbere pier, where they assaulted him. Mr O'Halloran jumped into the sea to escape his attackers, and was only saved from drowning by a friend.
All four accused, aged between 19 and 24, had pleaded guilty to a count of assault causing harm. Judge Sean O'Donnabhain said he could barely believe that men from coastal communities would force a man into the water on a winter's night. He jailed Michael Harrington for two years, Jamie O'Driscoll and Mark Harrington for one year, and Tom Hendricks for 18 months. He suspended all four sentences.