Broken bottle used in Athlone assault after row over headphones

A man who smashed a bottle against a wall and stuck it into another man’s neck during a row over a set of headphones could be facing three years and nine months in prison following a sentence hearing at Mullingar Circuit Court.

Judge Keenan Johnson said Noel Rattigan (23), of Ardbrae Park, Athlone, Co Westmeath, was a “somewhat sad figure living a very depressed type of life” due to substance and alcohol abuse.

Mr Rattigan had entered a guilty plea to a charge of assault causing harm to another man using a broken bottle.

Garda Jennifer Cassells told the court that she had been on duty on the night of June 30 into July 1, 2023, when she was made aware of an assault that had taken place on Connaught Street, Athlone.

Garda Cassells travelled to Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe to speak to the injured party, who had been taken there by ambulance following the assault.

The man told Garda Cassells that he had been socialising that night in a pub on Connaught Street and had noticed a “lad” he didn’t know.

When he gathered his things at around 12.15am and left the pub, he heard a male voice shouting “they’re my headphones”. The injured party turned back and said “no, they’re my headphones” and offered to go back to the pub to look at CCTV footage.

He said the male then took a green bottle from his pocket, smashed it against a wall and stuck it into the injured party’s neck. A scuffle followed and the injured party said he received a number of “boots and kicks” and was starting to feel weak.

The assault stopped when three other males came along. Gardaí and an ambulance were called and the man was taken to Portiuncula Hospital where his wound was dressed, before he was transferred to Galway University Hospital due to the severity of the injury.

He received 14 stitches to the left side of his face, running behind his ear to his neck. He also suffered a black eye, a cut underneath his eye and a cut on his neck, and had to get a tetanus shot.

In his victim impact statement, the man said he had been “left in the street in a pool of blood, not knowing whether I’d live or die”.

He said he has suffered “endless nightmares and flashbacks” since the assault and that he no longer feels safe walking in the street. The impact on his family has been “horrific”, he said, and he has to sleep on the right side of his head because the left side gets “really, terribly sore”.

He said he’s on medication for the psychological effects and “I will never be the same person I was before this”.

The accused’s mother told the court that her son was the second of six kids and has two young kids himself, aged two and three. She said he has addiction issues and would need help to resolve them.

“He’d been off the alcohol for a week. He didn’t want to go out that night,” she said, adding that Mr Rattigan was “pushed into it” because his relationship was breaking down.

She said her son was “very introverted” and “used alcohol as a crutch to give him the confidence to go out” since he started drinking at the age of 15. He started using drugs at the age of 16 or 17.

She also admitted she’d been given “a completely different story of what happened” and said her son had come home all “gashes and bruises from the scuffle” because “that man had him on the ground”.

“Well, what did you expect the victim to do when he was set upon by a broken bottle? You’re talking about something you know nothing about, with the greatest respect,” said Judge Johnson.

Turning to sentence, Judge Johnson said it was “by the grace of God” that the victim wasn’t killed in the “extremely serious” and “savage” attack.

“I’ve said it before: the streets of our towns are not safe after closing time. It’s a terrible state of affairs that people can’t go out on a night out without being subjected to an assault,” he said.

He noted that Mr Rattigan pleaded guilty but showed “very limited remorse” and, in fact, “seems to be aggrieved that he suffered injuries, but he brought that on himself”.

There was an element of “premeditation” involved, he added, as Mr Rattigan could be seen on CCTV footage going back for the bottle with the intention of carrying out the assault.

A forensic psychological report assessed him at very high risk of reoffending due to his history of violent behaviour, antisocial behaviour, substance abuse, unemployment and violent attitude.

In conclusion, the report indicated that it was “imperative” that Mr Rattigan be remanded in custody for his own safety and so that he could avail of structured addiction treatment.

Judge Johnson said the offence attracted a headline sentence of four years, which he mitigated down to three years and nine months on foot of a guilty plea. However, he postponed finalisation of the sentence to allow time for a probation report to be prepared and to provide a road map for Mr Rattigan’s future.

He remanded Mr Rattigan in custody until July 8, 2025, stating that a probation assessment would be carried out quicker in prison.

"Any offence of this nature will automatically carry a custodial sentence,” he concluded.