Man to be sentenced later for manslaughter after one punch outside hotel led to a man’s death

By Eimear Dodd

The family of a man who died after he was punched in the face once outside a hotel have been left “devastated” and “shattered” and their lives have been “changed forever”, a court has heard.

Vincent Kelly (45) died from serious head injuries after he was punched once by Paul O’Carroll (47) outside the Royal Hotel, Bray, Co Wicklow, in the early hours of June 9, 2018.

O’Carroll of St Peter’s Place, Bray was found guilty of the unlawful killing of Mr Kelly following a trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court earlier this year.

At the sentencing hearing yesterday, Mr Kelly’s sister, Andrea said he was a “brother, cousin, nephew and friend”.

His death had left his siblings and family “devastated” and their lives “shattered”.

Ms Kelly said the facts heard during the trial had “broken us more” as the man described was “not our brother”.

Ms Kelly said the family’s world has been “changed forever”.

“We are left wondering if he [Mr Kelly] had not been in Bray, would he still be alive,” Ms Kelly said, adding that it had taken her time to go back to the town.

Ms Kelly said the trial had provided the family with “a sense of closure” and her brother could now rest, but would “live on in their hearts”.

A victim impact statement on behalf of Mr Kelly’s wife was also read to the court.

Judge Orla Crowe said the case was a very serious matter and she adjourned it to October 13 for finalisation.

Detective Sergeant Eamonn O’Neill of Bray Garda Station gave an outline of the evidence to the court.

Mr Kelly, who had been living in Newtownmountkennedy, was staying at the Royal Hotel in Bray at the time.

He went to the hotel bar at 9pm on June 8, 2019 where he was seen drinking, later joining other patrons.

When the bar closed, the remaining patrons including Mr Kelly moved to the lobby.

O’Carroll was among this group and was finishing a drink with another individual.

Det Sgt O’Neill agreed with Garnet Orange SC, prosecuting, that Mr Kelly’s behaviour appeared to be annoying some people in the lobby.

O’Carroll’s companion took Mr Kelly’s drink and moved it to another table. Mr Kelly got his drink and returned to the group.

O’Carroll then took Mr Kelly’s pint, and walked out of the hotel, leaving the drink on a surface outside.

Mr Kelly followed shortly afterwards to retrieve his drink and O’Carroll then struck Mr Kelly once in the face.

Mr Kelly then fell back and sustained catastrophic injuries to his head.

O’Carroll immediately went to help the victim and others also assisted Mr Kelly until the emergency services arrived.

CCTV footage did not show Mr Kelly raising his hands to defend himself or strike the defendant.

Mr Kelly was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital then transferred to Beaumont Hospital.

He later suffered a heart attack and died in the early hours of June 10, 2018.

Former deputy state pathologist Dr Michael Curtis had given evidence during the trial that Mr Kelly died as a result of the head injury.

O’Carroll left the scene before gardai arrived, but attended Bray Garda Station the following day with his solicitor and made a voluntary statement.

The defendant told gardai that he had felt under threat and struck pre-emptively in self-defence because Mr Kelly was acting irrationally.

O’Carroll lives with his partner and is the father of two adult children. He has 21 previous convictions, including nine for possession of drugs and one for assault.

Det Sgt O’Neill agreed with Michael O’Higgins SC, defending, that the assault charge dates back to 1999 and there was a period between 2008 and 2021 when he did not pick up new charges

Mr Orange read a victim impact statement to the court made by Mr Kelly’s wife.

She said that Kelly’s death had caused “great turmoil” to her and their children.

She had felt shock when she was told of his injuries and the likely outcome.

The realisation that she would have to break the news to their children was “devastating”.

She said the children tried to avoid going to Bray for a time following this incident.

Mrs Kelly said she now fears as the children grow older, they will develop a deeper awareness of the circumstances of their father’s death which will cause fresh upset.

Defence counsel Mr O’Higgins SC apologised to Mr Kelly and his family on behalf of O’Carroll.

Mr O’Higins said this was an “unforeseen and spontaneous act of violence”.

The punch used “moderate force” and would not generally lead to death, Mr O’Higgins said.

However, the blow led to consequences which would not be expected from similar incidents where a person is struck once on the face, he said.

Mr O’Higgins said this was not a crime of intention, but the punch had caused the victim, who had been drinking, to fall to the ground.

Mr O’Higgins said O’Carroll’s immediate attempts to help the victim indicated that he had not acted out of rage.

While O’Carroll was culpable for striking the victim, the circumstances which lead to the confrontation were not of his making, Mr O’Higgins said, adding that it was a moment of “bad judgement”.

Mr O’Higgins said O’Carroll was one of seven children.

His education was interrupted following the family’s move to England in 1988.

O’Carroll had worked as a plasterer until 2016, when he was advised to change career following a workplace accident.

O’Carroll is very involved in the local community and a volunteer with community groups and charities.

Ian Neary, club secretary of St Peter’s Football Club, gave evidence that he had known O’Carroll for 12 years and the defendant had climbed Kilimanjaro in 2018 to fundraise for the club.

Several testimonials were also handed into the court from friends and some of the community groups O’Carroll has been involved with.

Mr O’Higgins said O’Carroll had been nominated for a local award in 2019 for his work with the Tidy Towns.

He asked Judge Crowe to consider imposing a non-custodial sentence, as O’Carroll had made a significant contribution to his community and a favourable probation report was before the court.

Judge Crowe adjourned the case to October 13 for finalisation