TWO Limerick brothers jailed for a savage unprovoked attack on a former friend have been transferred from Limerick Prison to an open, low-security facility, four months into sentences of two and two and half years in jail.
Cian Hayes (33) and Daragh Hayes (37), who were both jailed on January 30, have served around 19 weeks as prisoners among the general population of the high-security Limerick Prison.
The siblings, from Ballyashea, Kildimo, County Limerick, were transferred from Limerick Prison to Shelton Abbey, County Wicklow, an open, low-security prison for men regarded as requiring lower levels of security, several reliable sources confirmed.
The Hayes brothers lured their then friend and former Limerick athlete and minor Gaelic football star, Ciaran Ryan, to Daragh Hayes’ home and attacked him with a hurley and a foot-long steel wrench.
The brothers interrogated Mr Ryan about a text message he had sent to Daragh Hayes ex-partner several months beforehand, which the court heard had been entirely innocent in nature.
Mr Ryan was to be the best man at Cian Hayes’ wedding before the attack. He suffered a collapsed lung, multiple fractures (including to one of his legs, arm, and fingers), as well as extensive bruising and severe psychological trauma.
Mr Ryan told the brothers’ sentencing hearing: “They beat me like they wanted me dead.”
The court heard Mr Ryan was lured to Daragh Hayes’ house on the auspice of making plans for Cian Hayes’ impending wedding.
Mr Ryan told the court that he and members of his family were “semi-shunned’ by some people in their local parish “for speaking up against the Hayes brothers”.
“Cian picked up the big spider wrench and Daragh picked up a hurley, and without explanation, they beat me like they wanted me dead,” Mr Ryan told the court.
“Cian shattered a number of my ribs and punctured my lung, all the while Daragh was beating me on the other side of my body with a hurley.”
Mr Ryan said that after Daragh Hayes realised he had done nothing wrong, he cried and told his brother that “we went too far”, but, Mr Ryan said, “Cian showed absolutely zero remorse”.
Despite realising they had been mistaken, the brothers later threatened Mr Ryan not to tell anyone what happened.
Mr Ryan underwent a number of surgeries, a gruelling physiotherapy regime, as well as psychological counselling following the attack.
Cian and Daragh Hayes initially denied their involvement in the beating, the court heard.
Investigating Gardaí, however, matched blood spatters found in Daragh Hayes’ home to Mr Ryan’s DNA – which proved to be key in supporting the DPP’s prosecuting the two men.
The two brothers, who had no previous convictions, were initially charged with assault causing serious harm to Mr Ryan, however, as their trial loomed, the pair pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of assault causing harm. They also entered guilty pleas to producing a hurley and a wrench and using them as weapons during the attack.
Judge Colin Daly told the brothers they had “lured” Mr Ryan to the house “with stunning premeditation” having “organised the perfect conditions for their attack” ensuring they and Mr Ryan would be the only people in the house at the time.
Daragh Hayes was jailed for three years with the final six months suspended, and Cian Hayes was jailed for two and half years with the final six months suspended.
A security source said it was not surprising the brothers had been deemed suitable for transfer to an open prison, despite only serving four months of their sentences.
They were regarded as being model prisoners inside Limerick Prison which, like other prisons, is battling overcrowding.
Sources said it is likely the brothers would be eligible for release before the end of the year, meaning they would serve less than 12 months each of their sentences.
When asked for comment, The Irish Prison Service said it “does not comment on individual prisoner cases”.
