A man who became involved in a “staring match” in a bar was later viciously beaten outside the premises.
John Gallagher was set upon outside McGinley’s Bar in Letterkenny.
He was repeatedly punched and then kicked when he fell to the ground around 2.40am on August 7th, 2017.
He had to be treated at Letterkenny University Hospital for cuts and bruises and spent the night in hospital.
Engineer Trevor Gildea, aged 21, was later arrested on suspicion of the attack and appeared at Letterkenny District Court.
The court was told that both men had been drinking in the bar and had become involved in a staring contest with each other.
When the victim went outside later that evening, he was attacked by Gildea.
Solicitor Frank Dorrian said his client was a 30-year-old engineer who serviced wind turbines in France.
He said there was a background between the two men and he claimed that Mr Gallagher had been staring at him all night across the bar.
He said he was sorry for what later happened outside the bar.
Judge Conal Gibbons said he had viewed pictures of the injured party and noted that he got “quite a beating.”
“He got quite an extraordinary beating from Mr Gildea and even if Mr Gallagher was eyeing him or glaring at him, these things happen,” he said.
He added that people resorting to violence in such circumstances was hard to explain.
And he said it was a sad reflection on society that bars now had to have “men in dark clothing” on the doors of bars around the country.
“This is a development which reflects badly on our society and on all of us. That we can’t go into a place of enjoyment and even have an argument with somebody, that we need people like this.
“Now you can see the reason why Mr Gallagher got one bad beating on this night. Violence is endemic in our society,” he said.
Sentencing the accused, Judge Gibbons said he had to “mark the gravity of the offence” with a term of imprisonment.
He sentenced Gildea, of Correnagh, Letterkenny, to three months in prison but suspended the sentence for 12 months.
He also ordered Gildea to pay his victim €2,000 in criminal compensation.