Two neighbours who had a row over the removal of a shrub were advised by Judge Kieran O'Connor to shake hands outside Dublin Circuit Criminal Court at the end of the case.
Judge O'Connor heard that Mr John Brown (50) spent three days in hospital as a result of the row and said it was a tragedy that neighbours should fall out to such an extent over something so small.
He imposed a six-months suspended sentence on Patrick Moran, of Lough Conn Road, Ballyfermot, and ordered him to pay Mr Brown the £1,000 he offered in compensation.
Moran (49) pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Brown, his next-door neighbour, on November 23rd, 1996.
Judge O'Connor told Moran he acted "in a most stupid fashion" but said it took a man to admit he was wrong.
He added that he admired the fact Moran had turned a ruined plot of land into a model garden.
Sgt David Buckley told Ms Mary-Ellen Ring, prosecuting, that Moran cut down a shrub which overhung Mr Brown's back garden. Mr Brown called to the Moran house and spoke with his wife.
Moran came out and started punching and kicking Mr Brown, who later had to be taken by ambulance to St James' Hospital.
He spent three days there with injuries to the head and body but has made a full recovery.
Sgt Buckley agreed with Mr Michael O'Higgins, defending, that Moran was a keen gardener and had never been in trouble with the law before.
There had been tension between the families because of complaints that the Brown children had been playing football in Moran's hedgerow.