A farmer who punched and kicked his 64-year-old neighbour and falsely accused her of stealing his mother’s post over a 25-year period has been jailed for two and a half years.
Hugh O’Brien (52) had to be removed from the courtroom during his sentencing hearing because of his constant verbal outbursts.
This included him calling a testifying garda ‘crooked and corrupt’ and suggesting that the ‘cop’ was telling “an outrageous lie.”
Mr O’Brien of Ballyanly, Inniscarra, Co Cork watched the rest of the hearing by video link in another room at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.
Earlier this week he was unanimously convicting of assault causing harm to his neighbour, Mary O’Brien Daly.
Injuries
Mrs O’Brien Daly told the court that she thought Hugh O’Brien was going to kill her when he arrived at her home in Iniscarra, Co Cork on December 8th, 2021.
In addition to facial and other injuries, she suffered a mini stroke and ‘broken heart syndrome’ within two days of the incident.
Mrs O’Brien Daly was making Christmas puddings when O’Brien knocked at her door, made accusations, assaulted her and kicked her while she was on the ground.
She said that Mr O’Brien arrived at her home brandishing an envelope. He then falsely accused her of stealing the post of his mother for over two decades.
An irate O’Brien referred to another neighbour and accused Mrs O’Brien Daly of being “in cahoots with that b*ll*cks next door.
She said that O’Brien viciously attack her.
“He made a drive towards me, he closed his fist, he caught me under the eye and knocked out a contact lens. He was saying — it was almost like a mantra — ‘You are making my life hell.’
"He struck me on the shoulder and knocked me to the ground. I began pleading: ‘Please don’t kick me in the hip.’ I have a bad hip.
“He bent down over me and caught me by the shoulders and yanked me to my feet. He had his face in on top of my face. I could feel his breath on my face. He was repeating: 'You are in cahoots with that b*ll*cks next door. And me, a 50-year-old virgin.’
He kind of pushed me backwards. I got my hand on the gate and I just ran.”
Mrs O’Brien Daly contacted gardaí about the incident. She also went to her doctor where she was treated for facial and other injuries.
Post
The court heard that on occasion, post for the 91-year-old mother of Mr O’Brien arrived at the home of Mrs O Brien Daly by mistake, given the similarity of their names. She always re-directed it to its rightful owner.
Meanwhile, Det Garda Mick Dolan said that the attack on Mrs O’Brien Daly was “completely unprovoked.”
“This incident was a sustained violent attack in broad daylight. This attack lasted six minutes.”
Mrs O’Brien Daly, who lives a few doors up from the defendant, made a victim impact statement in court. She said that the attack had altered her life “irrevocably.”
“The serenity of our home of thirty two years was shattered by the assault. I was his ideal victim, a middle-aged small woman, living in a secluded place, alone and completely vulnerable.”
She said that she was aware that the defendant had a ‘nasty reputation” but nothing could have prepared her of the actions of this “violent, cruel and volatile” man. She had never had any dealings with Mr O’Brien prior to the incident.
Mrs O’Brien Daly said that Hugh O’Brien was completely lacking in respect for “the gardaí, the judiciary, truth or law and order in any shape or form.”
“He is unrepentant for the havoc that he has caused in my life.” The retired solicitor said that the assault had triggered a series of medical events.
“Within 48 hours I suffered a series of transient ischaemic attacks or mini strokes and a stress myocardial infarction commonly known as broken heart syndrome. ‘
Fear
She told Judge Daly that she remains fearful of Mr O’Brien.
“I sincerely believe that this man, should the opportunity to harm me present itself again, would commit further acts of violence or threats of violence on me. It is my belief that he had been watching me.
The physical proximity of his mother’s land facilitates the opportunity for him to monitor my movements easily.”
Judge Colin Daly imposed a three-year sentence on the defendant, suspending the last six months of the sentence given his family circumstances.
His sister had submitted a letter to the court via defence barrister Brian Leahy. She had appealed for leniency in the case given that she is now the sole carer of her mother.
Judge Daly noted the seven previous convictions of the defendant some of which were for assaults. He warned Mr O’Brien not to have any contact with the victim in the case ‘direct or indirect’ following his release from custody.
He said it was a completely ‘unprovoked attack” with not much in the way of mitigation.
“He has a history of violence with and against his neighbours.. A further aggravating factor is that this was an attack on a vulnerable woman in her own home. The accused is a big man.”
Mr O’Brien was found guilty by a jury of eight men and four women on Wednesday. No sooner had the jury left the room than Mr O’Brien shouted that they had “got it wrong — W.R.O.N.G. — I am innocent of this charge.”
Judge Daly had remanded the bachelor in custody prior to his sentencing hearing given the “extraordinary contempt” he had shown the court during his trial.
Mr O’Brien refused to take off his baseball hat and mask and claimed that he had to wear the latter because of all the “farters, coughers, sneezers and spitters in the room.”
He also was prone to verbal outbursts during the trial, for which he was frequently warned and took one to two minutes of a pause before answering questions on the stand.
Mr O’Brien took seven minutes to be sworn in to give evidence in the case. Repeating after the registrar each clause of the oath to tell the truth normally takes a handful of seconds.
He also took copious notes during the trial. Asked about taking notes in the witness box while being questioned, he said: “If you are accused of something in the wrong I think I would be stupid to take down nothing in this David v Goliath situation.”
Mr O’Brien was given three warnings about his behaviour by Judge Colin Daly at the sentencing hearing today. He directed prison guards to remove the defendant from court because of his outbursts.
When Judge Daly concluded sentencing in the case, Mr O’Brien attempted to make another statement to the court via video link. He said he had been “wronged.”
Judge Daly said that “the time for statements was over” and that the right of appeal was open to Mr O’Brien.
