Eight years for attack with samurai sword

A MAN who took part in an assault in which a carpenter’s hand was cut off with a samurai sword in a crowded Dublin pub has been…

A MAN who took part in an assault in which a carpenter’s hand was cut off with a samurai sword in a crowded Dublin pub has been given an eight-year sentence.

Anthony Dowling (35), a father of three, was armed with a claw hammer and his co-accused Charles Russell (29) was armed with the sword when they attacked a man who had allegedly made a crude remark to Dowling’s mother-in-law.

Dowling, Fortlawn Drive, Blanchardstown, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing Peter Rogers serious harm at the Deputy Mayor Pub, Meekstown, on January 13th, 2008.

Russell, Whitechapel Road, was jailed for nine years in March 2009 for severing Mr Rogers’s hand.

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Det Garda Tony Gleeson said that Mr Rogers would never have full use of his left hand again. He has also been left with a facial scar from another blow he received from the sword.

He has suffered from depression and panic attacks, his relationship has since broken down, and he will never again work in carpentry or play golf and football as he had done before the assault.

Det Garda Gleeson agreed with Patrick Marrinan SC, defending, that Mr Dowling was shocked at Mr Rogers’s injuries which occurred while he was being restrained by staff outside after hitting Mr Rogers with the hammer.

Judge Katherine Delahunt said: “Drink and abuse of alcohol will never be accepted as an excuse in this court.” She noted that Mr Dowling had returned to the pub with Mr Russell after a verbal altercation and that he knew his co-accused was armed with a sword.

A customer saw the hand on the floor after the two men fled and gave it to bar staff who preserved it in ice.

Mr Rogers underwent 12 hours of surgery at the Mater hospital where his hand was reattached and lacerations to his face sutured.

Dowling fled in his van but was stopped and arrested by gardaí who took him to hospital to be treated for his own injuries.