A west Clare man fled naked to his grandmother’s house after being found in bed with another man’s fiancee, a court has heard.
James Bracken (29) made the middle-of-the-night getaway on February 12th, 2017, after being hit across the head with a bottle of Baileys by Noel McGreene (37) after Mr McGreene found him in bed with Mr McGreene's then-fiancee.
Mr McGreene pleaded guilty at Ennis Circuit Court to assault causing harm at Cluain Na Mara, Kilkee, on the night.
Defence counsel Brian McInerney told the court his client “found himself unexpectedly confronted with circumstances that no red-blooded man would wish to be confronted with”.
His client was, he said, “confronted with a large element of provocation”.
“Mr McGreene accepts that he over-reacted because he pleads guilty to a crime. He picked up the Baileys bottle and he ejected Mr Bracken from the premises in fairly short order.”
Det Gda Paul Heaslip gave evidence that Mr McGreene returned to his home at 4am where he found Mr Bracken naked in his bed with his fiancee, who also lived at the address.
The defendant, he said, picked up a glass bottle and hit Mr Bracken over the head.
“Mr Bracken then proceeded to flee the bedroom down the stairs where Mr McGreene tried to punch him while he tried to flee”. He said Mr Bracken ran out the door “wearing no clothes and ran across Kilkee to the home of his grandmother”.
Mr Bracken went to the emergency department at University Hospital Limerick later that day where a medical report showed he had sustained a jagged 6cm-long wound to the back of his scalp. He also had bruising around his right eye and had a small wound to the left frontal region of his head.
Det Gda Heaslip said the woman involved declined to provide a statement.
He agreed with Mr McInerney that Mr McGreene is a decent man and has no history of violence.
The detective said neighbours had noticed a commotion with reported loud noises and shouting while Mr Bracken was being assaulted. “No local person was willing to give an account of what had occurred on that night,” he added.
Unannounced
Mr McInerney said Mr Bracken knew Mr McGreene over a long period and knew the woman in question. “Mr Bracken formed a view that they weren’t in a relationship at that point in time,” he said.
On the night Mr Bracken “was out socialising with the lady for a considerable period of time”. They returned to Mr McGreene’s home, were drinking Baileys and brought the bottle to the bedroom.
Mr McGreene returned to his bedroom unannounced and “found this strange naked gentleman in his bed”, he said.
Mr Bracken’s mother came back to get her son’s clothing, he said, and Mr McGreene threw them out the top window.
His client, he said, is a father of four. His first partner died of cancer a number of years ago and he was left to bring up the children by himself.
Mr McGreene has also pleaded guilty to a separate charge of possession of €3,230 worth of cannabis for the purposes of selling at Skehanagh, Clarecastle on November 24th, 2017.
Det Gda Heaslip accepted the defendant was delivering and not engaging in selling the drugs.
Mr McGreene has been on remand in prison since October concerning the two offences.
Judge Gerald Keys adjourned sentencing in the two cases to Friday as he was told Mr Bracken wishes to make a victim-impact statement.
