A 35-year-old man punched another man so hard in a Navan nightclub that it almost seemed as if he was in a professional boxing ring, a judge has told a local court. Paul Carry of Tailteann Road, Navan who pleaded guilty at Trim Circuit Court to assault causing harm to another man at the Palace Nightclub, was told by Judge John Martin had he had set upon the victim in a “most violent, unprovoked and unnecessary way” and it “looked like something out of a boxing ring, repeatedly, rapidly punching around the area of his head and face and upper body before ultimately getting an ashtray to finish off your action”. The defendant was also charged with demanding money with menaces from a woman whose son had got into difficulty with drugs. The accused was represented by senior counsel Carl Hanahoe and barrister Shane Kelly (instructed by Cosgrave solicitors).
‘Distressed and bleeding’
Detective Garda Paul Cullen told the court that a Mr Radowski had called to Navan Garda Station on 4 th June 2024 to report an assault. He was very distressed and was bleeding from the mouth, nose and head. The Garda took a photograph of the injuries and he was taken to hospital. His colleague Garda Bartley Fitzgerald got CCTV footage from the smoking area of the nightclub. The injured party could be seen in conversation with some of the people including the defendant. The footage showed defendant approaching Mr Radowski and acting aggressively.
A video played in court showed defendant repeatedly striking the victim. The victim did not make a statement afterwards and did not agree to make a victim impact statement. The defendant was on bail at the time of the alleged offence for a public order offence in which he threatened to kill three members of the Garda.
‘Get the son or the house’
Dealing with the separate charge of demanding money with menaces the court was told by Detective Garda Jacqui O’Hanlon that a woman’s son had got into difficulty with drugs and owed money to various people. In a statement she said that a man whom she did not know at the time called to her house at night on 8 th December 2023 and was aggressive and asking for her son bname and adding that he was owed €6,000. She asked him who he was but he refused to tell her.
The ring doorbell recorded the man’s image. The woman’s husband was present and he recalled the man saying in an aggressive and intimidatory fashion that he would “get the son or get the house”. On 14 th December the woman withdrew €6,000 from the bank to give to her son for onward transmission to the defendant at the car park near the fire station in Navan. The woman had told Gardai that on a night in September 2024 the defendant along with two other men came to the house demanding €900.
She told them her son no longer lived there. She said she told them that they would not be getting any money from her. The men’s images were captured and as a result Gardai obtained a search warrant and searched Paul Carry’s home and seized a number of items including a black Prada jacket. He had been arrested and during two interviews maintained a “no comment” stance.
‘Cannot forget fear’
A victim impact statement from the woman who had been visited at her home was read to the court. She said she had lived in Navan for over 20 years. On the first occasion when defendant called to her home on his own her two younger children were in bed and she was trying to organise “the last few bits for Christmas”. The defendant was very aggressive with her, was not taking no for an answer and was agitated. “I was so shaken after this and I cannot forget the fear I felt. Christmas week should be about family and the joy of being together. This was two Christmases ago and the nightmare hasn’t stopped”.
She said she was terrified and had ring doorbells and cameras installed at her house. “I did not deserve any of this. I never got involved in things I shouldn’t. I worked all my life since leaving school and now I cannot work. My physical and mental health has deteriorated significantly. I suffer from anxiety and depression”. It was not a nice feeling to go to bed every night wondering if yourself and your family will be ok in the morning. “It is like a dream I’m in, like something off the telly. I’ve isolated myself from my friends and extended family members as I battle with my mental health”.
“I can’t believe I have to write one of these [Victim Impact Statement]. Never in a million years did I think this was the direction my life would go through absolutely no fault of my own”.
‘Nothing to fear from me’
Mr Hanahoe said that his client had written a letter directed to the woman victim in the case saying that “you have nothing to fear from me and you will never hear from me again. The lawyer said this must be of some comfort to the victim. Letters handed in from his client’s mother and partner said that he was a good father to his children. He had already been in custody for 15 months, something which bore heavily on his family. Mr Hanahoe said he came from a good and law abiding family and he recognised he had brought shame on that family.
In relation to the nightclub assault matter Mr Kelly said that his client had consistently described footage of the assault as “disgusting” and how surprised he was to see that footage. The lawyer said he hoped the plea of guilty was of use to the court. He said that attitudinal changes had taken place on the part of his client and an alcohol problem had been dealt with. Judge Martin sentenced the defendant to four years imprisonment backdated to 12 th November 2024.
