Two gardaí were attacked and seriously assaulted by four men and a juvenile when they went to bring the juvenile home after they arrested him on suspicion of committing an offence in a west Cork town.
Sgt Dan Sheahan was headbutted, beaten and kicked, while Garda Denis O'Donoghue was knocked to the ground and repeatedly kicked in the head and stomach during the attack at Coppeen, near Enniskeane, on December 28th last.
Yesterday, at Cork Circuit Criminal Court, four men, David Barrett (24), Scrahan; Donal Barrett (21), Coppeen; Michael O'Riordan (21), Clashbredane; and Michael O'Sullivan (23), Coppeen; and a 17-year-old juvenile all pleaded guilty to violent disorder on the night in question.
Judge Patrick Moran said it was a very serious assault, and he was shocked at the amount of alcohol the four had consumed. One man had told a probation officer that he drank between 10 and 15 pints on a night out.
He agreed to adjourn sentence for a year to allow all four men and the juvenile to come up with compensation for the gardaí.
