Man charged with brutal assault avoids jail after donating €5,000 to head injury charity

Stephen Maguire

A man who left another man with serious head injuries after a one-punch attack in Co Donegal has avoided prison after paying €5,000 to a head injury charity.

Sean Breen was charged with a brutal assault on Damian McFadden outside the Atlantic Bar in the Inishowen town of Buncrana in 2019.

Last December at Donegal Circuit Court, Judge John Aylmer gave Breen an opportunity to come up with the sum to be given to Acquired Brain Injury Ireland.

If the 31-year-old made the contribution, Judge Aylmer said he would be minded to impose a two-and-a-half-year suspended prison sentence.

Breen had pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr McFadden and causing him harm in the attack on August 9th, 2019.

Mr McFadden was seen by an eyewitness who described him as being “out for the count with blood coming out of his mouth”.

CCTV footage was previously shown in court in which Breen could be seen delivering a punch with his left hand to Mr McFadden’s face. The victim was knocked unconscious in the incident and was taken to hospital.

Mr McFadden discharged himself from hospital at 1.20am on August 10th, 2019.

However, the court was told that the following day that he was not feeling well and had pains in his head and was being sick.

He was rushed back to Letterkenny University Hospital but was sent to Dublin's Beaumont Hospital, where he spent almost two weeks getting treatment for a serious head injury before being released on August 22nd, 2019.

After reviewing footage, local Detective Garda Jason Conroy made a positive identification of Breen at the scene.

Breen, of Marianus Park, Hazelbank, Derry, was arrested and interviewed and admitted assaulting Mr McFadden following a disagreement over a person they both knew.

Garda Rafferty said that Breen has a number of previous convictions in Northern Ireland for common assault, dangerous driving, not having insurance, taking a car without consent and failing to stop for police, but had no convictions in this jurisdiction.

Barrister for the accused, Mr Shane Costelloe SC, said the evidence suggested that the brain injury was not a result of the punch but the result of the fall from where Mr McFadden had banged his head.

Mr Costelloe said that his client consumed a lot of alcohol and that he felt threatened during the encounter.

Mr Costelloe quoted his client as saying: "I felt threatened and I was just defending myself."

The barrister said Breen has not come before any court since 2014 and that on the night in question, his client was 24 years old, was drunk and had just broken up with his girlfriend.

Mr Costelloe said that while it was no excuse, he wanted to point out that this was very much a one-punch attack and it was not followed up by any "savagery" such as kicks to the head.

Passing sentence, Judge Aylmer noted that Mr McFadden passed away in 2022, but there was no suggestion that this was anything to do with the injuries suffered as a consequence of the punch.

Referring to the injuries sustained by the victim, Judge Aylmer said he placed the incident in the mid-range for such offending, and it merited a sentence of three-and-a-half years before mitigation is considered.

He said Breen made admissions, entered an early plea and has not come to any adverse attention since the incident.

Judge Aylmer said Breen has a good work record as a landscaper and was before the court with the benefit of positive references.

He said previous convictions, which were recorded in Northern Ireland for common assault, dangerous driving, not having insurance, taking a car without consent and failing to stop for police, occurred when he was between 18 and 20 years old between 2012 to 2014.

Judge Aylmer said it was opened to him that the incident occurred after Breen went through a breakup of a relationship and was going through a two-month period of alcohol and drug abuse.

Judge Aylmer said the mitigation merited a reduction in the sentence to two-and-a-half years' imprisonment.

Given that Breen is now what he called a hard-working man in a settled relationship with a young child, with the benefit of a probation report, he said he would give him a chance.

Judge Aylmer said that he would adjourn the matter for one year to allow Breen to put together €5,000.

At this week's adjourned sitting, barrister Ciaran O'Rourke said he had a receipt in court for a sum of €5,000, which was paid to the Acquired Brain Injury Ireland charity.

Judge Aylmer said he would suspend the sentence in full for twoand a half years, and he also bound Breen to the peace for the same length of time.