An uncle and nephew from Ennis and Clarecastle were given five-year and four-year prison sentences respectively for the manslaughter of a 26-year-old Lissycasey teacher in Ennis last St Stephen’s night.
Harry Dinan of Waterpark Heights, Ennis and his nephew, Kevin Dinan of Clarehill, Clarecastle appeared before Ennis Circuit Criminal Court on Monday, where they were sentenced on the manslaughter of Brian Casey.
Both men pleaded guilty last month to the charge of manslaughter.
Judge Carroll Moran described the case as “very sad” and stressed, “what is so appalling about it is that it was entirely unnecessary”.
“There is nothing I say and no sentence I pass that will improve matters for the family. It is often said that an accused is offered a sentence where they will one day, usually, come out of prison and regain their life. But for the family, they have been given a sentence for which there is no reprieve,” he added.
“I have to pass a sentence and one day they will come out. I can’t sentence them and throw away the key. Whatever sentence I pass will not be much comfort to the bereaved,” Judge Carroll Moran remarked.
He imposed a five-year sentence on Harry Dinan, which was backdated to September 30 last.
Kevin Dinan was sentenced to four years in prison, to run consecutive to a sentence of two years he is currently serving on another matter. His due release date on that conviction is November 25, 2011.

Jailed for ‘entirely unnecessary’ manslaughter

Ennis Circuit Court has heard that one of the two men who admitted to the manslaughter of Lissycasey man, Brian Casey had done so while on temporary release from prison while the other was on bail.
In passing sentence, Judge Carroll Moran first addressed the family of Mr Casey. “This is a very sad case. Before I say anything else, I should express my condolences to the relatives and friends of the deceased. We have heard from his girlfriend Cecilia Talty and Martina Casey, the deceased’s sister, on how the loss has affected them and their families. You have suffered a grievous loss. What is so appalling about it is that it was entirely unnecessary and anyone hearing it (the evidence) must come to this conclusion,” Judge Moran stated.
He added that no sentence he passed could bring back Mr Casey and he was conscious that the Casey family “had been given a sentence for which there was no reprieve”.
He said whatever sentence he imposed would not be of much comfort to the bereaved but that he must pass a sentence in accordance with the principle of law. In doing so he said he must weigh the mitigating factors in the case with the aggravating factors.
Judge Moran said in this case that the first mitigating factor was the guilty plea entered by the accused men, which removed any risk that a prosecution would fail and save the family and the State the burden of a trial. He said the accused men’s admissions were an acknowledgement to society that they had done wrong.
“They made admissions which must have been helpful. As appalling as it was, there was a melee in O’Connell Square on this evening and when this happens it can be difficult to distinguish what happened. The other factor is that this was a ‘one punch case’, which resulted in the deceased falling to the ground and hitting his head. One resulted from the other. That shows a lack of premeditation to kill and I accept that they did not intend to kill. They had intended to do harm,” Judge Moran opined.
He continued by outlining the aggravating factors in the case.
“While this is a one-blow case, it was a very severe blow. Whether it was the blow or the pavement that caused the death may be an academic exercise. Onlookers believed Mr Casey was unconscious before he hit the ground because of the blow. The evidence of the pathologist shows he sustained very severe head injuries. There may be debate at the margins but there is no doubt that it was a severe blow and as a result Mr Casey hit the ground and was killed.
“The second aggravating factor is that this was a gratuitous act. Mr Casey was not facing his assailant and turned his head because someone was calling ‘that’s him’. He had his hands in his pockets, he was not able to defend himself,” Judge Moran stated.
He added that another aggravating factor was the accused men’s bad records.
Evidence was heard that Harry Dinan, an unemployed block layer and father-of-three, had been on temporary release at the time of the incident and had 64 previous convictions. His unemployed nephew, Kevin Dinan, had been on bail from the circuit court in respect of a burglary charge, for which he is currently serving a two-year prison sentence, had 17 previous convictions.
Judge Moran said that case law opened to the court by Ms Isobel Kennedy (SC), counsel for Harry Dinan in relation to ‘one punch’ cases, “does not meet the evidence” in this matter.
Judge Moran said that had the two men pleaded not guilty and been convicted by a jury he would have sentenced them to 10 years in prison.
He then imposed a five-year sentence in respect of Harry Dinan and backdated the sentence to September 30 last when he had entered a plea of guilty to the offence.
In relation to Kevin Dinan, the judge handed down four years for his level of culpability, which he ordered to run consecutive to the two-year sentence he is currently serving.
Judge Moran refused leave to appeal and highlighted in concluding the matter that it had been a “difficult” case.

Casey the victim of unprovoked assaults

Ennis Circuit Criminal Court heard the harrowing details of how 26 year-old Brian Casey met his death while out socialising with friends in Ennis on St Stephen’s night last.
Harry Dinan, (30), of Waterpark Heights, Ennis and his nephew Kevin Dinan of Clarehill, Clarecastle, appeared before the court on Monday having pleaded guilty on September 30 last to a charge of manslaughter.
Opening the sentencing hearing before Judge Carroll Moran, Ms Deirdre Murphy (SC) for the State outlined the events that lead to the death of Mr Casey, a schoolteacher from Lissycasey.
“On St Stephen’s night 2009, Brian Casey, his girlfriend, his friends and family came to Ennis to celebrate. Later that night Brian Casey lay unconscious following two unprovoked cowardly assaults perpetrated by the accused,” Ms Murphy said.
She explained the first of these assaults was carried out by Harry Dinan, who punched Mr Casey as he was standing on the side of the road watching a larger scuffle, which he was not involved in. She described the punch delivered by Harry Dinan as “a haymaker”, which caused Mr Casey to fall to the ground and hit his head on the pavement.
“Kevin Dinan then came from behind a bin and punched Mr Casey repeatedly into the head and face while he was on the ground. Mr Casey never regained consciousness,” Ms Murphy continued.
The court heard the deceased man sustained two fractures of the mandible (lower jaw) and a skull fracture as a result of these attacks.
Detective Sergeant Michael Moloney explained what each party had been doing up to the point of the assault.  
“Brian Casey and his friends were in Lucas’s bar first and then went to Charlie Stewart’s with friends. The Dinan group were also out and by co-incidence were in Charlie Stewart’s but neither party were aware of each other.
“The Dinan party made up of four men and four women left before the Lissycasey group, which included nine men and four women. The Dinans left towards the Movieplex on Parnell Street and Kevin Dinan stopped in Enzos to get some food and he was joined by two others. They then left and went up to O’Connell Square, heading to the Queens Hotel.
“The Lissycasey group had now left Charlie Stewart’s and were walking a short distance behind the Dinans. Songs were being sung and Kevin Dinan’s girlfriend seemed to be offended. They threw a piece of food back at the Lissycasey group, the Lissycasey group picked it up and it was thrown back at the Dinan’s. Mr Casey was not involved in the food-throwing incident. The food did not hit either party,” Detective Sergeant Moloney detailed.
He explained that at O’Brien’s Sandwich Bar on Parnell Street the Lissycasey group passed the Dinan group out but as they did so Kevin Dinan spat some food out at one of them. “Some words were exchanged and that was it,” he added. Mr Casey was walking ahead of his group with his girlfriend towards Abbey Street and Harry Dinan had also walked ahead and was ahead of Brian Casey.
“At O’Connell Square an altercation took place between Kevin Dinan’s group and the Lissycasey group. This scuffle was caught on CCTV camera and was going on behind Brian Casey and Harry Dinan and did not involve either of them. Kevin Dinan was involved with other males from the Lissycasey group. There were some bouncers working in the area and they became involved in separating this scuffle. While this was going on Mr Casey turned around with his girlfriend back onto O’Connell Square. Mr Casey had his hands in his pockets and was not involved. He was watching what was going on. He stood as a bystander,” he continued.
Det Sgt Moloney explained that Harry Dinan became aware of the scuffle and ran back to O’Connell Square “swinging and punching and hit people to the ground”.  Bouncers separated the groups, the Lissycasey party was standing at Carrig Donn and the Dinan party were across the road from them near O2.
At this point Det Sgt Moloney said “Harry Dinan ran across the road and struck Mr Casey in the face as he was just turning to face the direction of Harry Dinan. A female witness said she had heard the words, ‘that’s the f**ker’ and then Harry Dinan ran and struck Mr Casey as he was standing with his girlfriend”.
Det Sgt Moloney said the extent of Mr Casey’s involvement in events at O’Connell Square was merely “to pick one of his friends up off the ground”.
He added that Harry Dinan’s punch “came from his waist with his left hand” and there was no warning to Mr Casey, who wasn’t looking in Harry Dinan’s direction when it was delivered.
Det Sgt Moloney said Kevin Dinan then “jumped on top of Mr Casey” and delivered “at least four strikes to his face”.
Kevin Dinan was then pulled away by members of the Lissycasey group and bouncers and the gardaí arrived.
He said Harry Dinan had resisted arrest and this resulted in another scuffle. At this time gardaí were not aware of the condition of Mr Casey, but he never regained consciousness.
“A doctor and nurse arrived on the scene and attempted to assist. Mr Casey was removed to Limerick Regional Hospital but never regained consciousness and was pronounced brain dead on December 28,” he continued.
The court heard Mr Casey died due to fractures and brain injuries.

Deceased’s girlfriend and sister reveal ‘overwhelming’ grief

The grief stricken girlfriend and sister of the late Brian Casey told Ennis Circuit Criminal Court this week of the loss and suffering they face daily in the wake of his untimely death.
Cecilia Talty and Martina Casey both took to the witness box on Monday where they addressed the court and the two men responsible for Mr Casey’s manslaughter on the impact Mr Casey’s death has had on his family and on them.
Ms Casey said she had tried many times to write the impact her brother’s death has had on her family and said to completely explain this impact “is overwhelming and I believe impossible”.
She said it was incredibly difficult to put the “overwhelming sense of pain and loss” into words after Brian was taken from them so suddenly and so violently.
“It has been 318 days since our last conversations with Brian, since we last saw him smile or laugh, since our lives changed forever. Every morning we wake up and realise that we will never hear his laugh again, or listen to his stories or be able to ask his advice.
“Not a day goes by that we don’t miss Brian and wonder what he would be doing now if he wasn’t taken away from us. He had so many plans and ambitions. He was in the middle of getting a second degree and was looking for a site so he and his beloved Cecilia could build a house and settle down. He was encouraging his fellow team mates on the Lissycasey football team to really make a push for another championship win. All of his hopes and dreams were destroyed in a matter of minutes, our futures ruined forever,” she said.
She spoke of the impact the impending Christmas season will have and said any celebration will always be tinged with sadness.
“Parents should not have to bury their children, especially not their 26-year-old son, the light of their lives… There’s a part of us missing that can never be replaced. We are angry that something so devastating could happen without any reason and we simply cannot understand why. Brian did nothing wrong he was simply a bystander and was attacked without provocation or reason,” Ms Casey continued.
She concluded by saying no sentence imposed will replace her brother.
Mr Casey’s girlfriend of 10 years, Cecilia Talty, also gave a victim impact statement at the court sitting.
Ms Talty was with Mr Casey on the night he was attacked and she spoke of how his death has “changed her life forever”.
“Brian was my partner in life from the moment we met until December 26, 2009. He was my life, my soul mate, my confidant, and my best friend. I miss him every minute of the day. After 10 years of history he knew me better than I knew myself. We had so many plans for the future and we were looking forward to a long life exploring our relationship further. My life has now been torn apart,” she said.
Ms Talty spoke of the wave of emotions that every day brings and told the court that she would never be able to erase the memories of the night that Brian was attacked. She said as Christmas approaches she dreads its arrival as her loved one will not be returning home.
“I am unsure how I will be in six or 12 months, whether my grief will become bearable, whether I will be able to accept the happy memories over the dreadful ones that fill my life presently. I do know that my heart aches to have him back in my life and feel his comforting voice and love,” Ms Talty concluded.