A MAN who was convicted of attacking a homeless man, causing him a brain injury, was remanded in custody for sentencing.
Kevin Meehan (31), of Inbhear na Sionna, Shannon, County Clare, denied charges of assault causing harm and producing a vodka bottle during the alleged assault. He was found guilty by a jury before Limerick Circuit Criminal Court.
Meehan’s barrister, Liam Carroll, told Judge Colin Daly that Mr Meehan “does not accept” the jury’s verdict.
On January 21, 2025, Meehan came across a man sleeping in a doorway at Liddy Street and set about searching his pockets for money, the court heard.
It was alleged that Meehan – who had 48 previous convictions, including for assault causing harm, making a threat to kill or cause serious harm, criminal damage, possession of drugs, and breaches of the public order act – punched the victim in the face and beat him on the head with a vodka bottle.
The victim, aged in his 30s, who sustained a bleed on his brain in the attack, identified Meehan to Gardaí when they arrived on the scene.
Meehan, a father of one, who has worked as a welder and fabricator, was arrested by Gardaí nearby a short time later.
Prosecuting barrister John O’Sullivan, instructed by Limerick City State Solicitor Padraig Mawe, described the victim as a “somewhat vulnerable man” who had been “bedding down for the night”.
The victim told the court: “I was scared. I honestly don’t remember (the attack) stopping, I would have blacked out.”
“They (doctors) said I had a bleed on my brain and numerous lacerations,” he added.
The victim described himself as “a bloody mess” in photographs taken by Gardaí on the night.
Gardaí gave evidence in court that they found Meehan attempting to hug and kiss the victim after allegedly assaulting him.
Garda Katie Forde said she directed Meehan to leave the area in order to ensure “the preservation of life”.
Garda Forde said Meehan was “highly abusive” and “threatened to head-butt” her and a colleague when they apprehended him.
Meehan and the victim were not known to one another, the court heard. They both endured addiction to alcohol and drugs, and were both intoxicated on the night, it was heard.
Mr Carroll, defending, told the court previously there had been no independent witnesses and no CCTV evidence to corroborate the allegations. He offered that the victim had agreed that he could not remember everything.
A jury of six men and six women found Meehan guilty of assaulting the man causing him harm and producing a vodka bottle during the attack.
He pleaded guilty to being intoxicated; possession of a hammer; and causing damage to a business premises with the hammer, earlier on the same night.
The court heard that, while awaiting sentence in custody at Limerick Prison, Meehan had engaged with addiction services and was considered a “model prisoner”.
Meehan was remanded in continuing custody for sentencing in July.
– Court Reporting Scheme