Case against three men involved in Longford pub altercation concludes at Circuit Court

Three men who appeared before Judge Kenneth Connolly on affray charges had the matter concluded at Longford Circuit Court. Shane Cox, Daniel Keane and Liam Mannion all pleaded guilty at a previous court sitting.
Liam Mannion (34) was charged with committing an affray by using unlawful violence on November 21, 2021 at Aide Farrell's Pub car park, and also of producing a weapon in the course of a dispute.

Daniel Keane (31) of Clonbonny, Lanesboro and Shane Cox (32) of Clonard, Clondra each faced an affray charge. A fourth defendant charged in connection with the matter is the subject of a European arrest warrant.
Counsel for the prosecution Shane Geraghty BL, outlined the details of the matter that brought the defendants before the judge.
On the evening of the incident Mr Cox, Mr Keane and another party were drinking in the Lanesboro pub. An altercation arose in the toilet between Mr Mannion and the fourth man, who has yet to come before the court, which saw Mr Mannion challenge the other man to a fight for €1,000.

The dispute spilled out into the car park of the public house. Mr Mannion felt threatened and went to his jeep and got a piece of timber.
The three other men chased him, and when he hit on the ground one of the men continued to hit Mr Mannion. The court was told that the man yet to come before the court struck Mr Mannion on the side of the head, partially severing his ear.
Mr Geragty said after this the matter dissipated and CCTV footage showed that the three men appeared to stand around chatting in the car park in the aftermath of the incident, despite the fact some had sustained significant injuries.
Counsel for Mr Keane, Niall Fox BL, said his client had “minimum involvement” and entered a guilty plea even though he had “not engaged in the fracas”.

“Mr Keane was involved in the lowest possible way,” Mr Fox said, “there is little or no evidence he was actively engaging in violent disorder. He was on the periphery at best.”
Counsel said his client, who works on groundworks in the construction industry, had tried to “diffuse the situation” adding: “He only struck out in a bid to push Mr Mannion away.”
Acknowledging Mr Keane was “in the thick of it” the barrister insisted his client was “a minor player in the drama”.
Mr Fox also pointed out the defendant's probation report was “broadly positive” and this was his first time in the Circuit Court: “He gave a truthful account of the incident,” Mr Fox said, “The whole thing lasted 20 seconds and at one point Mr Keane tried to separate the two parties.”

Counsel pointed to his client's good work history, his early guilty plea and that fact he contacted the injured party the next day to apologise for being there.
Mr Fox said the defendant undertook a third level engineering degree, but did not finish and is now employed as a fitter.
Counsel for Mr Manion, Dimitry Grinberg BL, said his client felt he was “lured down an alleyway” by the fourth person. Mr Grinberg said Mr Mannion was the first to report the incident and even though he “got a bad hiding” there was no bad blood to precipitate the matter.

The defendant sustained abrasions, bruising and tissue loss to his ear. Counsel said that on the night alcohol and drugs were “at play” and pointed out that Mr Mannion had cooperated fully with the investigation.
Since this incident he has engaged with the Hope House Addiction Centre and has had strong family support: “Mr Mannion had done everything to address his issues that manifested in the past,” Mr Grinberg said.
Mr Fox also represented Shane Cox for the finalisation of the matter. He highlighted that Mr Cox attempted to engage with Mr Mannion to “pushed him back” and had no other involvement in the incident.

“Mr Cox was immediately remorseful,” the barrister said and pointed out that in a “fulsome” interview he said “no one deserved that” when told of Mr Mannion's injuries.
Mr Fox said the defendant “tried to diffuse the situation on a number of occasions”. He told the court Mr Cox is a father of two children,full time worker and although he had previous convictions he was “not on the Garda radar”.

In concluding matters Judge Connolly first said the charges against Mr Mannion would attract a sentence of 14 months in prison, however mitigation would allow this to be reduced to 200 hours of community service in lieu of the custodial term.
Mr Mannion must complete the community service within one year and also makes a payment of €2,000 to Lanesboro Tidy Towns Committee.

Judge Connolly accepted that Mr Keane's involvement put him “at the lower end of the scale” but said a nine month sentence was the appropriate one. The judge said mitigation allowed this to be suspended for a period of two years on Mr Keane's own bond of €200.

In concluding the case against Shane Cox the judge said the affray charge would attract an 18 month prison term, but this could be mitigated to 12 months, that sentence was suspended for a period of two year on Mr Cox's bond of €200.

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