A man who stabbed his next-door neighbour "in 30 seconds of madness" after being caught letting the air out of her car's tyre has been ordered to pay her €20,000 in compensation.
Michael O'Keeffe (60), Castlepark, Tallaght, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting Ellen Farrelly causing her harm and to damaging the wheel of a motor vehicle on April 26th, 2005, at Swans Nest Road, Kilbarrack.
Judge Katherine Delahunt said it was "in every sense a tragic case, both for the victim and for you who, at the age of 60, has had your life fall apart". She noted he had lost contact with his wife and children since the incident.
Judge Delahunt imposed a three-year sentence which she suspended for five years and ordered that he pay his victim €20,000 which he had brought to court as compensation from the sale of the family home.
She further ordered that he stay away from Swans Nest Road and not approach Ms Farrelly for the period of the suspension.
Sgt Eileen Costello told SeáGillane, prosecuting, that Ms Farrelly had been socialising in a pub on the night and when she returned home she saw an individual underneath her car.
She asked the person what he were doing and she said O'Keeffe, her next-door neighbour, got up and ran towards her shouting incoherently. He hit out at her several times landing blows and she ran screaming for help out on to the road where she noticed she had blood on her chest.
Sgt Costello said an ambulance arrived and took Ms Farrelly to Beaumont Hospital where it was discovered she had stab wounds to her left breast and arm and scratch marks on her back.
Sgt Costello said O'Keeffe seemed "agitated and incoherent" and complained of "banging, banging, banging" due to work being carried out by the Farrellys on their home.
He told gardaí that he had simply intended to let air out of the tyre with a thin blade but when Ms Farrelly arrived and called for her husband he had "30 seconds of madness" and stabbed her. Sgt Costello said he was remorseful and said he would swap places with Ms Farrelly if he could.
She agreed with Luigi Rea, defending, that there had been a dispute between the two families about refuse and O'Keeffe believed that the car was being used to transport refuse.
Ms Farrelly told Mr Gillane that she was in recovery from breast-cancer treatment at the time and had been out of work for two months after the incident.