A Dublin man yesterday received a five-year suspended sentence for the manslaughter of a neighbour when a judge accepted his motive was the protection of his mother.
Last month a jury found David Dunne (25), of Coultry Road, Ballymun, not guilty of murder but guilty of the manslaughter of Mr Patrick Higgins (50), of Coultry Grove, Ballymun, on November 13th, 1995.
In the Central Criminal Court Mrs Justice McGuinness said she had to mark the seriousness of the offence by sentencing Dunne, a father of two, to five years' imprisonment. But she suspended the sentence on condition that Dunne stays away from the area where the Higgins family lives, undertakes an employment training course and remains under the supervision of the probation service.
In what was described by his barrister, Mr Gregory Murphy SC, as "a singularly unfortunate episode", Dunne admitted pushing and kicking a man he later discovered was Mr Higgins because he believed his mother was being assaulted.
His mother, Mrs Helen Dunne, told the trial she followed Mr Higgins outside after they had "a stupid argument" at the end of a christening party in his house.
Mrs Dunne said she went after Mr Higgins to plead with him to come back in but he told her he was "sick of it all" and pushed her backwards to the ground.
The prosecution, led by Mr Sean Ryan SC, alleged that Dunne, having arrived on the scene, ran at Mr Higgins and propelled him forward with such force that he "smashed his head against a wall".
Dunne admitted to gardai that he then kicked his neighbour twice as he lay on the ground.
The State Pathologist, Dr John Harbison, gave evidence that the deceased suffered a hinge fracture and a depressed fracture of the skull, neither of which he could have survived. But he added that facial injuries and fractures to the nose contributed to breathing problems and the inhalation of blood, leading to death.
Passing sentence, Mrs Justice McGuinness said Dunne "with the motive of trying to protect his mother, reacted with far more violence than was necessary".
But she accepted he had suffered a great deal of remorse and regret over what had happened.