A Dublin thug, who has over 100 previous convictions, has been jailed for nine years after he unleashed a vicious and unprovoked attack on an off-duty Garda who was left fighting for his life.
Garda Paul McAuley and his colleague were attacked in an unprovoked assault on Eustace Street, Dublin, in December 2024, as a result of which he said he was”left on the street to die”.
His attacker, pictured above, Kevin Murphy (34) of North Frederick Street, Dublin 1, pleaded guilty to assaulting Garda McAuley on the 2nd day of a trial before the Circuit Criminal Court earlier this year.
In his victim impact statement, Garda Paul McAuley detailed how he had been out at “Christmas celebrations” with his colleagues when his” life was turned upside down” after he was punched in the head, causing him to fall and hit his head off a curb, which immediately rendered him unconscious.
Garda Stephen Walsh was also assaulted in the same incident, which took place in the early hours of the 14th of December 2024.
Garda McAuley said that he was “left unconscious” and bleeding from the ears and had “no chance” to defend himself as the attack was “so sudden in nature”.
Judge Patricia Ryan heard how the assault caused “life-threatening injuries”, and that family and colleagues spent Christmas that year not knowing if the injured man would survive or not, and if he did, what quality of life he would have.
Garda McAuley, at times pausing, said today that his skull was fractured, that his brain was “bleeding” and “swollen” and that it has been “pushed into areas it was never meant to go” because of the impact to his head.
He said he was left “fighting for life”. He had a tracheotomy to be fed through a tube, and a “drain” was inserted directly through his skull while he was “totally helpless”, and a portion of his skull was removed and placed inside his abdomen [a decompressive craniectomy, treatment for severe brain swelling].
He said that the removal of the portion of his skull had left a “very notable concave” in his head, which was “almost like a physical manifestation of what had been taken” from him.
Garda McAuley said that he lost 20kg in weight and became “a burden” on his partner, who had to quit her job for six months to look after him. He described this as “a bitter irony”, saying he had spent his career trying to “protect others as a Garda.
He said he now lives with “permanent tinnitus” and has a “high-pitched ringing” in his ears, and that although he has “no memory” of the assault, he has “the scars” to “remind” him.
His “specialist training” has been “derailed” and he may “never be deemed fit to return to my duties”, he said.
“Realistically, I should be dead,” expressing gratitude to the “incredible” medical team at the Beaumont Hospital.
Despite the extent of his recovery, which a previous sitting heard required him to learn how to walk again, he said the “damage caused” could “never” be undone. He expressed his gratitude to the Garda team who had investigated the assault.
Co-accused sentenced at earlier hearing
At a previous hearing, Johnathan O’Neill pleaded guilty to assault causing harm contrary to Section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997. He became involved in the incident when Garda Walsh attempted to assist his colleague, who had been rendered unconscious, by confronting Murphy.
The court heard that before he fled the scene, Murphy stole Garda McAuley’s phone and wallet.
O’Neill punched Garda Walsh in the back of the head, causing him to fall to the ground, where the accused kicked him in the head as he lay there. Some time after the assault, it was discovered that spinal fluid was leaking from his nose.
The court heard that neither of the officers remembered what happened, but that large quantities of CCTV from the time surrounding the assaults were harvested along with witness statements.
Entering the witness stand to deliver a short victim impact statement, Garda Walsh, who suffered permanent hearing damage as a result of the assault, said that he cannot forget the worry he felt for Garda McAuly, who was in a coma for an extended period of time after the assault.
He said that “for over a month” he didn’t know if his colleaguesand friend woud live or what quality of life he would have if he did survive.
“Those thoughts haunted me for a long time and left me with a feeling of guilt that I could have done more to help him,” he said.
“He was so badly injured”, he said, adding, “I got to spend Christmas with family and friends” while Garda McAuley lay in hospital.
Turning to his own injuries, he said that he couldn’t work properly and that this affects him every day, both personally and with his career, as Gardaí are subject to hearing tests.
He expressed his thanks to his colleagues and those who “helped on the night”.
Gardaí combed through CCTV to identify suspects
After the incident, the court heard that a Garda Kennedy was canvassing for CCTV in the area when O’Neill made himself known to the officer, telling him he had been in the area on the night in question. After this, Garda Kennedy noticed a man wearing the same outfit as O’Neill on CCTV, which led to his identification as a suspect. When he was arrested on Austin Quay a short time later, he said: “I knew this was coming”.
O’Neill, 35, of Cromcastle Road, Kilmore, Dublin 5, said that he didn’t remember what had happened, which the court heard was due to his “ingestion” of heroin and crack cocaine on the night.
The accused has 37 previous convictions, including two for robbery, eight for theft, two for trespass in a building, one for obstruction, one for attempted theft, one under the Drugs Act, and six for Public Order offences.
Michael Liam O’Higgins SC, defending, told the court that on the evening in question Murphy, the co-accused, had been seen by three women ‘striding’ up the road with a “level of aggression” before he launched his attack.
He argued that when the accused was interviewed, he was asked, “Were you just helping your friend out?” and said that this was the case.
O’Higgins said that the more serious injuries had been caused by the kick to Garda Walsh’s head, and that his client had grown up with a “very” violent father.
A letter of apology penned by the accused was read before the court after Garda Walsh indicated that it was acceptable to him, albeit “late in the day”.
O’Neill wrote, “what happened was totally wrong”, and that he had “totally misread the situation” and is “so sorry” for Garda Walsh and his family.
He has been in custody since the 17th of December 2024 and has done courses in psychology and “anti-violence”, the court heard.
O’Neill was jailed for three years and three months.