A Montessori teacher and her boyfriend who "fought like alleycats" during a confrontation with three men have each received a two-year suspended sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Jessica Collins (21), Ryevale Lawns, Leixlip and Derek Brennan (23), Hillcrest Crescent, Lucan, first fought with Colm Dufficy, Jason Prior and a third man while waiting for a taxi outside a nightclub.
They then went home where Collins got a knife and Brennan picked up a wheelbrace and then drove around the area to find the men again to confront them. Brennan hit Mr Dufficy with the wheelbrace and Collins threatened Mr Prior with the knife when she saw that he had Brennan in a headlock.
Collins pleaded guilty to producing a knife during the course of an assault and Brennan admitted to assault causing harm to Mr Dufficy (23) in Glendale Estate, Leixlip, on February 29th, 2004.
Judge Donagh McDonagh said the pair had every opportunity to walk away from their first encounter with the men but that Brennan instead chose "to display his manhood and puff up his feathers to prove he was not a wimp". He said the two chose to "fight like alleycats" in the first confrontation and they then returned home where Collins picked up a knife and Brennan got a wheelbrace and went out to find the men so as "to get their revenge".
Judge McDonagh accepted they had €7,000 compensation to offer their victims but ordered that a further €3,000 should be paid to the men by March next. He suspended the sentences on condition that they keep the peace and be of good behaviour for three years.
Garda Niall Geoghegan told Marie Torrens BL, prosecuting, that Mr Dufficy temporarily lost the sight in his left eye and was left with cuts to his head and nose which needed 14 staples and eight stitches. He was still undergoing surgery to reconstruct his nose.