A YOUNG married father who attacked a relative with a hatchet outside a church before a family baptism will be sentenced later at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
The parish priest separated Martin Maughan (20) from his cousin-in-law Martin Sweeney, who had tried to flee into the church.
Mr Sweeney claimed that Maughan, with a temporary address at Hanover Quay, Dublin , drove into the church car park at speed and “clipped” him with his car before the attack.
Maughan pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Sweeney at Mount Argus church car park, Lower Kimmage Road, Dublin, on February 17th, 2008.
Garda John Walshe said Maughan stopped his car, ran to the boot and pulled out a “foot long” hatchet before advancing on Mr Sweeney, who is a trained boxer. Garda Walshe agreed with defence counsel, Justin McQuade, that his client’s “petty grievance” with Mr Sweeney arose from a “perceived slight at an earlier family function”.
He told prosecution counsel, Tony McGillicuddy BL, that Maughan “swiped” the hatchet at the injured party before the “tussle” which was broken up by the priest outside the church doors.
Mr Sweeney attended hospital six days later with lesions on his chest from contact with the hatchet but suffered no serious injuries.
Judge Desmond Hogan conceded that the incident “sounded an awful lot worse than what actually happened” and indicated he would impose a two-year suspended sentence and 240 hours community service on the next date.