A man who was beaten with a leather belt outside The Wright Venue in Swords says he’s now nervous about going out because of what happened.
Ronan Gormley of Riverside Grove in Coolock needed to be restrained by Gardai after he attacked the man for chatting up his friend.
Ronan Gormley was outside The Wright Venue in Swords when a man began chatting up a friend of his. The court heard she wasn’t interested but the man persisted.
Gormley, who was pretty drunk at the time, reacted by taking off his leather belt and beating the man with it. He hit him in the face area and the man needed stitches to close a wound above his eye.
A bouncer took the belt off him and the Gardai arrived on the scene shortly afterwards. The 30-year-old lashed out while being arrested and made verbal threats towards Gardai.
Today, the court heard he’s since taken steps to address his behaviour. His mother paid €2,000 in compensation to his victim and Gormley is just €200 shy of paying her back.
Judge Mary Ellen Ring handed down a 2.5 year sentence but decided to give him a chance and suspended it in full.
