Man jailed for single punch attack that left victim with brain injury

By Niamh O’Donoghue

A 42-year-old man has been jailed for five years for a single punch to a man, causing serious brain injury.

The Dubliner also received a further three-and-a-half-year jail term for several other offences, including the robbery of two tourists in Dublin city centre last year. All involved violence or the threat of violence.

Joseph Boyle, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to assault causing serious harm, robbery, theft and threatening to kill or cause serious harm at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Judge Martin Nolan heard he had 86 previous convictions before sentencing him on Thursday.

In the most serious incident, he assaulted a man on the street. The injured party was discovered by civilians on his back and barely breathing on the Phibsborough Road. Since there were no witnesses or CCTV of the incident, it was first thought he had suffered an overdose, and he was administered Naloxone, which caused him to come around a bit. He was taken to the Mater Hospital, where he spent five and half months.

Detective Garda Gary Moran told the court when Boyle was interviewed, he admitted the assault. Boyle said a verbal argument occurred with the injured party who was across the road, and they were going to have “a straightener”. Boyle punched the injured party once in the jaw, causing him to fall to the ground, and he ran off.

The garda told David Perry BL prosecuting it was not possible to ascertain whether it was the punch or the fall that caused a traumatic brain injury. The injury was life-threatening in nature, and the injured party would have died, but not for the medical treatment he received. A CT scan of the brain showed he suffered cognitive impairment. The injured party has made a good recovery, but some cognitive issues still remain.

Boyle was charged in 2022 and was granted bail. He pleaded guilty on his trial date earlier this month.

Det Gda Moran agreed with Padraig Dywer, SC, defending, that Boyle accepted responsibility and was remorseful for what he had done. He further agreed Boyle said he hit him in the jaw and “didn’t expect him to drop like that”. He told gardai he got a call saying the injured party “was in a bad way”.  Det Gda Moran further agreed Boyle told gardai, “I’m sick I’m after doing that”.

“This was a terrible injury,…not an intended injury,” Mr Dwyer said in mitigation. He said his client had spent a lot of time “in and out of prison over the years”.  He said there was a letter before the court outlining Boyle’s chaotic life and expressing genuine remorse and regret.

He spent time in Wheatfield Prison, where he has found it difficult, and hopes to transfer to Mountjoy Prison as there is a medical facility where he was able to access proper counselling. He is on 60 mg of methadone but was on 80mg. Mr Dwyer said Boyle started drinking as a teenager, which led to drug addiction.

In a separate incident on January 8, 2024, the court heard Boyle stole washing powder from the More for Less shop in Charlestown Shopping Centre and lunged at a security guard with a knife. He was on bail at the time.

He threatened to stab a security man after he caught him stealing cleaning products from Tesco in Kilbarrack. When the security man pursued him, Boyle said, “I have a knife, and I’ll stab you”. He was on bail at the time for the previous two offences.

He gave a false name to gardai, and when charged and bailed, he later went into custody and pleaded guilty on his arraignment date.

The garda agreed with Karl Monahan BL, defending that when interviewed, Boyle said, “I was a cobbler, cleaner and a few other things” but stopped working as he had a problem with alcohol. He said he was going to sell the items.

Det Gda Moran also agreed Boyle said he had the knife because he had threats on his life. He further agreed Boyle identified himself on the footage holding the knife.

In another incident while on bail, Boyle was charged with one count of robbery of two tourists in Dublin city centre. Detective Garda Aaron Connell of the NCBI said two New Zealand nationals who had just arrived were sitting on the steps of the Belvedere Hotel at 11 pm on June 8, 2024, when Boyle, who was with a woman, asked them for €20.

He then produced a knife and stole an iPhone, Kindle and a New Zealand identification card.

Boyle persisted in asking them for money, but the people said they had none as they had just arrived in the country. The phone was later tracked to Moore Street, where it had been thrown in a market stall. Boyle was arrested and identified himself on CCTV footage.

He told gardai he and his female companion were short of money, and that things had gotten out of hand. He said he had produced a pen but later admitted it was a knife in a “moment of madness”.

He was charged on June 9 and released on bail on June 10^, 2024. He pleaded guilty earlier this month.

In a final incident where he was on bail for the previous four offences, Boyle and his partner Kia O’Connor (34) were shown on CCTV by Detective Garda Neil Cepeda in an altercation with another man and woman.

The incident, which happened on June 27, 2024, in the outdoor stairwell of Beckett House, an apartment block on Gardiner Lane in the city, Boyle is seen brandishing a knife. Boyle punches a man in the head, and O’Connor chases the other woman up the stairwell.

O’Connor, who pleaded guilty to violent disorder, throws a bottle at the woman, and as the man has gotten back to his feet, Boyle “appears to slice or cut” the other man’s hand, the court was told. Boyle told gardai he was “out of his head on crack on the day.”

The court heard O’Connor, a mother-of-two of no fixed abode but originally from Cork, had a number of setbacks and started taking heroin. Aidan McCarthy, BL, defending, said she had also suffered a miscarriage carrying Boyle’s child.

On Wednesday, the couple embraced for a few moments in the dock of Court 5– the main sentencing court of the Courts of Criminal Justice – before being separated when Boyle was led back into custody. Judge Nolan jailed O’Connor for a year.

Boyle returned to court this afternoon to receive his sentence.

Judge Nolan described the single punch to the head as “a savage blow”. He noted that it wasn’t possible to say whether this had caused the serious brain injury or the resulting fall to the ground.

He noted that he had been hospitalised for five and a half months, had difficulty with mobility, and still had problems. His injury had affected him greatly every day of his life, he said.

“I’ve no doubt that this defendant didn’t mean to cause these injuries, but when you punch someone in the way he punched this man, there’s always a chance serious injuries will ensue,” he said.

“He has a problem with violence. The more time you engage in violence, the greater the chance you’ll do someone serious harm.”

Judge Nolan imposed a five-year sentence for the assault causing harm.

He said he had to sentence him globally on the other offences.

“I have no doubt he had a serious and chronic drug problem and, over the years, developed a violent temperament,” he said. “And I’ve no doubt he was a menace.”

He imposed three and a half years on those charges, to run consecutive to the five years for the assault.