Father-of-two who kicked man in head 18 times 'like a football' jailed

A young father-of-two who kicked a man 18 times in the head has been jailed for two years.

John ‘Nipper’ Sweeney appeared before Letterkenny Circuit Court in Co Donegal following the attack at Burnside Apartments on September 29, 2022.

Horrific footage of the attack was broadcast in court as part of CCTV evidence which showed the accused, aged 29, repeatedly kicking his victim in the head.

The court was told that Sweeney stopped after somebody shouted “the shades (Gardai) are coming” before he returned and began kicking his victim again.

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The court had previously been told by Detective Garda Johnny Sweeney that this was the worst attack he has seen in 20 years of service.

He added that at one stage on the CCTV Sweeney is seen “kicking the victim several times continuously and at one stage running up to him akin to kicking a football.”

Detective Garda Declan O’Keefe gave overall evidence of the incident.

He told how Gardai encountered traffic at a standstill at Lower Main Street in Letterkenny while an incident took place at Burnside Apartments at 4.20pm.

A number of people were present and Gardai noticed a man trying to stand up who had cuts to his head.

Another man who they knew as John ‘Nipper’ Sweeney, who was drunk and unsteady on his feet with blood on his mouth and forehead was shouting at Gardai “Arrest me. He assaulted me.”

Detective O’Keefe told how video footage from what had happened had been uploaded and had gone viral on social media.

However, a vacuum had been created after the incident as no complaints had been made.

The CCTV footage showed Sweeney and another man fighting while others were also getting involved in the melee.

Sweeney was initially arrested on a public order charge and finally pleaded guilty to a Section 3 assault on the other man although he claimed it was in self-defence.

He claimed the other man had started the row out of the blue.

The court was told that the other man is also before the courts but was not engaging with Gardai to provide a victim impact statement.

The court was told that Sweeney, a 29-year-old father-of-two, has 69 previous convictions but just one for assault.

The other convictions are for public order, theft, burglary, criminal damage, drugs, production of an article and road traffic offences.

Letterkenny Circuit Court in Co Donegal.

Sweeney’s barrister, Mr Peter Nolan, said that when interviewed by Gardai, the accused claimed the other man attacked him first by biting him on the shoulder and punching him in the face.

Mr Nolan said that before this incident between 2016 and 2022, Sweeney had “kept his nose clean and his head down” and it was not until this “appalling event” he went into custody and did not apply for bail.

Sweeney addressed the court by reading out a prepared letter.

He apologised to the court and to the other man involved saying that at the time he had lost his partner and his kids and that his younger brother was in a coma.

He added that he felt he was assaulted first and had a right to defend himself but went too far.

“I was doing well and as happy as a man can be when I lost everything,” he said.

While in prison on remand, he awoke on January 26, 2023 to find his cellmate and childhood friend dead and that this “opened my eyes that there is more to life.”

He said that for the past 17 months he has had time to think about what he has done and he was asking the court to give him a chance saying he wanted to say sorry to everyone he has offended including the other man involved in the row, admitting that his attack could have caused the other man a much more severe injury.

The court was also told that he was impacted by the death of his father through suicide in 2016.

Judge John Aylmer asked the extent of the victim’s injuries and a picture of the man was handed into court which showed severe swelling to his head and face.

Mr Nolan said that it was clear from the CCTV footage that the other man involved in the row caused the original assault but that it does not excuse the level of violence used in retaliation.

He said a probation report on his client said he now had insight into the matter and although he has numerous previous convictions, it was notable that only one was for assault.

On a personal level he began drinking at 13 and by 16 he was taking cannabis and cocaine and had also left school at 16 having completed his Junior Cert but has never held full-time employment.

He believed he had a right to defend himself until he got legal advice and he is now doing well in Castlerea Prison.

Mr Nolan added that it was undoubtedly a serious offence but asked Judge Aylmer to give whatever credit he could to his client.

Passing sentence Judge Aylmer said it was the court’s view that the incident was at the upper end of the scale saying the video footage told its own tale of the vicious nature of the attack.

“It is miraculous that no more injury was suffered,” Judge Aylmer said. “That is entirely fortuitous given the very violent nature of the kicking.”

He said that while it was clear the victim was the aggressor from the outset, Sweeney accepts that he used force that was greater than necessary and that before mitigation the attack merited a sentence of four years in prison.

In mitigation, he said Sweeney was cooperative and it was also relevant that while he had numerous previous convictions only one was for assault.

Judge Aylmer said he noted that the accused had not offended from 2016 until 2022 and was anxious to turn his life around before committing a dangerous driving incident and then getting involved in this incident.

He noted Sweeney was genuinely remorseful and was also anxious to get on with his rehabilitation and to eventually get employment.

He noted he had encountered some adversity in his life through the death of his father by suicide and also the death of his close schoolfriend in prison.

For these factors, Judge Aylmer said he was reducing the four-year sentence to one of three years in prison.

And to give him encouragement for further rehabilitation as had been suggested by the Probation Service, Judge Aylmer said he proposed to suspend the final 12 months of the sentence on condition that he be of good behaviour, go under the supervision of the Probation Services and abstain from alcohol and drugs.

He also ordered that all credit be given to Sweeney for the time he has already served in prison.