Drinker in hotel bar attacked another customer when the victim repeatedly refused the offer of a drink

By Declan Brennan

A drinker in a hotel bar attacked another man in the bar after the victim repeatedly refused the offer of a drink, a court has heard.

Stephen Bradley had told Barry Doyle (39) that he wanted to be left alone and didn’t feel like talking to Doyle and his friend.

The three men were drinking in the public bar of the Beacon Hotel in Sandyford in south Dublin on December 17, 2018.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Doyle also offered to buy the victim a drink a number of times but Mr Bradley, then aged 41, declined the offer each time.

Kieran Kelly BL, defending, compared his client’s behaviour on the night to Mrs Doyle from the Father Ted TV show.

In an effort to stop the offers Mr Bradley then named a very expensive whiskey and showed it to Doyle on his mobile phone.

Doyle threw the phone back at the victim and made a number of threats, Garda James O’Reilly told Pieter Le Vert BL, prosecuting.

Mr Bradley said at this point he “saw red” and he walked into the hotel kitchen and grabbed a ladle.

He walked back to the bar and Doyle and his friend came towards him and threw him to the ground and began kicking him until staff pulled them away.

The victim used his hands to protect his head during the beating and was left with injuries to his arm.

Doyle of O’Dwyer Road, Walkinstown, Dublin, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm.

The court heard that Doyle, who has previous convictions for public order offences and criminal damage, pleaded guilty on the basis of “excessive self-defence”.

Mr Kelly told the court that his instructions were that when Mr Bradley came back from the kitchen he walked up to his client and raised the ladle over his head.

He said that his client “excessively defended” himself.

Counsel said that both men were the “worse for wear” with drink on the night and that there was no initial animosity between his client and the victim.

“That changed when Mr Bradley indicated that he wasn’t interested in engaging in conversation,” counsel said.

Judge Karen O’Connor said that the victim was entitled to sit on his own without being interfered with in any way and Mr Kelly said his client accepts that.

She adjourned the case to June for sentence and remanded Doyle on continuing bail.