Two jailed for attack on man and his fiancée

Christopher Sherlock (20), 77 Droim Chaoin, Bishop O’Donnell Road, Rahoon, and Jonathan Ward (19), 58 Carn Ard, Rahoon, both denied assaulting Brendan Finnerty, causing him harm, at John Coogan Park, on November 17, 2013.

They also denied a charge of assaulting Bridget Ward during the same incident, while Sherlock denied a lesser charge of assaulting Brendan Finnerty.

Giving evidence that she had often changed his nappy, Bridget Ward told the hearing at Galway District Court last Monday that she was Jonathan Ward’s aunt and had “practically reared him”.

Mr Finnerty gave evidence he was walking with his then fiancee, who is now his wife, to her home at around 5pm when they heard footsteps  running towards them in the dark through an alleyway near her home.

He said he was struck on the back of the head and when he turned around he saw Christopher Sherlock, who struck him again on the shoulder.

Ward, he said, had the bottom half of a pool cue in his hand which had a screw at the top and he hit him three times on the wrist and once on the elbow as he put up his arms to defend himself.

He said that while Ward was hitting him with the pool cue, he could see Sherlock holding the baseball bat over his fiancée’s head, threatening her.

Mr Finnerty said he received five staples to the back of his head following the attack.

Bridget Ward told the court she and her husband were within 20 yards of her home in John Coogan Park that evening when they were attacked by both accused. She said she knew both of them very well.

Ms Ward said she went back to the scene of the attack later that evening with Garda Trevor Lohan. She said she found the pool cue and used a piece of paper to pick it up so that her fingerprints would not contaminate it.

She said she brought it home and placed it in a plastic bag and gave it to Garda Lohan when giving her statement the following week.

Garda Lohan said he went to the scene of the attack with Ms Ward but they never found a pool cue there.  He said he took it from her the following week when she called to the Station to make a statement and he still had it in his locker.

Under cross-examination by defence solicitor, Olivia Traynor, Garda Lohan confirmed he did not have the cue forensically examined for fingerprints as it had not been found at the scene on the night of the attack.

Both Sherlock and Ward gave conflicting accounts to the court of their whereabouts on the evening of the assault.

Sherlock said he had been in Bantry that day with Jonathan Ward, his father, Patrick Sherlock, and an uncle.  He said he went straight to bed when he got in home earlier that evening and did not attack anyone.

In a statement given to Gardai after the attack, Ward claimed he had been at home in Rahoon all day and had been in bed that evening, too, when the attack took place.  He said he had not met Sherlock at all on that date.

However, while giving direct evidence to the court on Monday after hearing Sherlock’s evidence, Ward changed his story and said he had been in Bantry with the Sherlocks that day.

Judge Mary Fahy said his evidence to the court was embarrassing.

She imposed a 12-month sentence on each of them for the serious assault on Mr Finnerty.

She imposed two, concurrent, three-month sentences on Sherlock for the lesser assaults on Mr Finnerty and Ms Ward.

Inspector Brendan Carroll said Sherlock had four previous convictions, including one for assault causing harm, for which he had received a eight-month suspended sentence, and for being found in possession of a baseball bat and slash hook at his uncle’s funeral for which he had been ordered to carry out community service in lieu of a nine-month prison sentence.

Those offences, the court heard, had predated this latest offence.

Ward, Inspector Carroll said, had 24 previous convictions, including seven for thefts, others for road traffic offences and one for assault causing harm, for which he had received a suspended 13-month sentence.

That offence, he said, had occurred prior to this latest offence.

Judge Fahy said she found Ward’s attitude, given that Bridget Ward was his aunt, very disturbing.

She imposed a 12-month sentence on him for the assault on Mr Finnerty but struck out the charge against him for assaulting his aunt, as no evidence was given of him assaulting her.

Ward hugged his mother and partner in court, assuring both of them that he would be out of jail in four months.