Courts

Man who attacked cardiologist with champagne bottle in victim’s home jailed for 9½ years

Victim required surgery remove blood clot putting pressure on brain and suffered permanent hearing loss in one ear

The victim met Liam Whelan while he was outside in the smoking area of a Dublin pub and they decided to go back to the victim’s home.
The victim met Liam Whelan while he was outside in the smoking area of a Dublin pub and they decided to go back to the victim’s home.
Sonya McLean
Thu Dec 19 2024 - 17:41

A man who attacked a cardiologist with a champagne bottle in the victim’s home soon after they met in a Dublin pub has been jailed for 9½ years.

Liam Whelan (43), of no fixed abode, had pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing serious harm and robbery of the victim in Dublin city on August 25th of last year. He was convicted unanimously by a jury on both counts following a trial in November.

The court heard the victim later required surgery to remove a large blood clot that was putting pressure on his brain and to reconstruct his skull due to a fracture. He has suffered permanent hearing loss in one ear and was unable to work for six months due to a risk of epilepsy and seizures.

Judge Patricia Ryan on Thursday sentenced Whelan to 10½ years, with the final year suspended for three years on strict conditions.

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Gda Ryan Delaney told Conor McKenna BL, prosecuting, the victim lived and practised as a cardiologist outside of Dublin but had come to the city that night to a property he owned. He went for dinner with a friend before going for drinks in The George Bar on George’s Street.

The victim met Whelan while he was outside in the smoking area and they decided to go back to the victim’s home.

Gda Delaney agreed with Mr McKenna that the victim has very little recollection of what happened afterwards but recalled going to his bedroom with Whelan before he heard a crunching noise. He came to later on the ground in a pool of his own blood. He estimated he had been there for some time as his face was stuck to the ground.

He continued to go in and out of consciousness and recalled seeing Whelan in the room, naked and trying on his clothes. He asked Whelan to call an ambulance and remembered him laughing and saying he had not made up his mind yet if he was going to “clip” him. Whelan later left the house with the victim’s money, wallet, credit cards, phone and clothing.

The victim got out of the house and bought some paracetamol before he returned home to sleep. It had been his intention to seek help in St James’s Hospital but when he arrived there, he discovered there were 11 ambulances lined up, so he decided to drive to his home in the south of the country.

The doctor was treated for the following day in hospital. He spent five days in hospital and was not able to return to work as a cardiologist or drive for six months due to the potential risks of seizures.

Whelan was identified on CCTV footage and arrested on January 4th last. During an interview with gardaí he claimed he had been sexually assaulted by the victim and struck him with a bottle as a result. He maintained this defence throughout his trial and also alleged that the victim “came at me with a knife”.

Gda Delaney said Whelan had 63 previous convictions including for breaching a barring order, road traffic offences, possession of drugs for sale or supply and possession of knives.

A victim impact statement read into the record by Mr McKenna said the victim has made “a good physical recovery – all things considered”. He had an estimated loss of earnings of €106,760 due to the fact that he could not practice in cardiology for six months.

He said he lost seven pints of blood during the attack and the walls in his bedroom needed to be repainted due to blood splatter. He has scars on his face and scalp.

The doctor said he previously had no history of mental illness but has since suffered severely. He suffers from “severe and crippling depression” which he finds both socially and professionally embarrassing.

“I am a paper-thin version of the person I was,” the statement continued. “I will never understand how someone I was having a lovely time with refused to call an ambulance, laughed at me and allowed me to fall back into a pool of my own blood.”

Gda Delaney agreed with Maurice Coffey SC, defending, that at the time of the offence Whelan was a homeless drug addict. He accepted that he has no previous convictions for violent assaults or robbery.