Mistaken identity led Carlow man to one punch knockout assault

A serving member of the defence forces who knocked a man unconscious with one punch, in a late night incident on John Street, has been handed down a Community Service Order at Kilkenny Circuit Court.
The accused was lucky to only be charged with assault, a judge commented, as even one punch fights can end with people being charged with manslaughter.

Morgan Meally, 36 John Sweeney Park, Carlow, pleaded guilty to a charge of assault causing harm and a second charge of assault.

The incident occurred in the early hours of July 15, 2022.
Gardaí were informed of ‘fighting’ on John Street just after 2am. When they arrived at the scene there was a crowd around a man on the ground with blood on his head.

A woman told gardaí that a man had run up the street. Gardaí went in that direction and met two men who identified themselves as members of the defence forces. One was Mr Meally. He was sweating and looked like he had been running.

The man who had been injured on John Street, Mr David McIlroy was from Co Meath, the court heard, and was working in Kilkenny.
He mostly travelled to and from home on a daily basis, but on this occasion had planned to stay in Kilkenny for a work outing.
Mr McIlroy and friends had been in a late bar on John Street. His next recollection of the night was waking up in hospital.

Brain bleed
He suffered a bleed to the brain, needed staples to the left side of his head and suffered bruising. He remained in hospital for five nights.
For this assault Mr Meally was charged with assault causing harm.

Mr Meally was also charged with assaulting a second man, Mr Glen Brennan. Mr Brennan had ‘adopted a defensive stance’ when his friend was struck, and the accused hit him. He suffered a swollen jaw.

Mr Brennan described how Mr McIlroy was punched by Mr Meally and ‘fell like sack.’ Mr Brennan heard Mr McIlroy’s head hit the ground. He said he was unconscious from the punch before he hit the ground. CCTV footage seemed to confirm this, the court was told.

Mr Meally, who is 20, has been a member of the defence forces since 2020. On this evening he had been out drinking and had returned back to his barracks when he heard a friend had been assaulted.
He went back into town and eventually received an incorrect report that Mr McIlroy and Mr Brennan were responsible and sought ‘retribution’.

Mr Meally had no previous convictions and in court an investigating garda said he was a ‘decent guy’ who was hindered by his intoxication on the night. His actions were out of character.

Victim Impact
In his victim impact statement Mr McIlroy described his recovery as ‘tough’ and said he had experienced a great deal of pain. He suffered headaches and his concentration was affected after the injury. He also felt this speech was affected.
He didn’t drive for a time because he had some balance issues. He was unable to work for seven weeks and to this day is nervous in social situations.

The court heard that Mr McIlroy considered himself lucky not to have suffered further injury as he had had a brain injury.

Judge Dara Hayes said Mr Meally was lucky to be facing an assault charge as a fight like this, even with one punch, can end with people being charged with manslaughter.

The accused accepted he had been mistaken and the injured men had nothing to do with the assault on his friend.
Judge Hayes said Mr Meally should have gone to the gardaí rather than take the law into his own hands.

Mr Meally is from an army family and joined when he was 18, the court heard. He stopped drinking after he saw CCTV of this incident.
Mr Meally wants a career in the army and that is ‘very much on the line.’

Judge Hayes said he had investigated what penalty would not trigger an immediate discharge from the army for the defendant.
A Probation Report said Mr Meally was at low risk of reoffending and was very sorry for the harm and stress caused to the victim and others by his behaviour.
He had offered the sum of €5,000 to Mr McIlroy as a token of his remorse. Arrangements were made for this to be transferred to Mr McIlroy.

The judge said it was a serious matter to take the law into your own hands and to be fighting on the street. People are entitled to be socialising without being set upon.

Remorse

Handing down his sentence, Judge Hayes said mitigating factors were Mr Meally’s early plea and genuine remorse, that he has not come to the attention of gardaí since and that he has completed an anger management course.

On the charge of assault causing harm to Mr McIlroy, Mr Meally was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. For assaulting Mr Brennan he was sentenced to four months imprisonment.

Judge Hayes said a custodial sentence would trigger an immediate discharge from the defence forces.
He said it seemed to him that in this circumstance that would be ‘overly severe’ for a first time offender who has made significant steps in rehabilitation.

Judge Hayes said it was appropriate to impose a community service order in lieu of imprisonment and ordered Mr Meally to carry out 180 hours of community service within 18 months.
The judge added that he fully accepts matters of service and discipline within the defence forces are a matter for the defence forces and whether Mr Meally remains a member is a matter entirely for them.
The second assault charge was taken into consideration in the sentence.