Man dressed as Superman gets suspended sentence for assault

Sonya McLean

A FATHER of one who was dressed as Superman when he headbutted a man at a nightclub one Halloween night has been given a two-year suspended sentence.

Denis Ward (39) later told gardaí he had no recollection of the assault but accepted: “I took the book off him and went for him” after he was shown CCTV footage from the nightclub showing him taking a pretend bible off the victim before he lunged at him.

The victim, Daragh Comerford, was left with a broken nose and later required surgery due to a deviated septum.

Inspector Eamon Lynch told Diarmuid Collins BL, prosecuting, at an earlier sentence hearing last March, that when he arrived at the club having been alerted to the assault, he was informed by security staff that the culprit was dressed as Superman and had been with a woman dressed as Wonder Woman.

He said he later stopped Ward, who was no longer dressed up but was with a woman dressed as Wonder Woman. The Superman costume was found discarded in a nearby bin.

Mr Comerford later told gardaí that he had spotted some pretend bibles in the nightclub and was messing around with them when a man in a Superman costume took it from him. He said he told the man to “relax” before Ward headbutted him.

Ward of Northern Close, Belcamp Lane, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing harm to Mr Comerford at D Two Nightclub, Harcourt Street, Dublin 2 on October 31, 2017. He has four previous convictions which include three for road traffic offences.

Judge Melanie Greally heard from a victim impact statement that the man had suffered a loss of €1,100 due to medical bills and having to take time off work.

She then adjourned the case to today when she handed down a two-year sentence which she suspended in full.

A victim impact statement said the man was “quite shook for a few weeks” after the assault and he had taken time off work. He said it affected him both physically and mentally and photographs were handed in of his injuries.

Barry Ward BL, defending, said his client has not touched alcohol since the assault. Judge Greally noted alcohol was “a significant factor” in the offence.

He asked the court to take into account that his client was unknown to the gardaí at the time and that his behaviour was “out of character”.