A FATHER of two was sentenced yesterday to 10 years for the manslaughter of a man outside a Galway pub.
It was the first prison sentence to be handed down by a judge at the historic first sitting of the new €140 million Criminal Courts of Justice, Parkgate Street, Dublin.
Patrick Doherty (46), from Glasgow, of Cloncoon West, Glenamaddy, Co Galway, had been convicted by a jury at the Central Criminal Court in Galway last July of the manslaughter of Frank Fahy (20), O’Keeffe Park, Glenamaddy, on December 15th, 2008. He was also convicted of assaulting Gerald Costello.
The jury of seven men and five women reached its 10-2 majority verdict of not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter after a six-day trial.
Mr Justice Paul Carney told people assembled at Court 6 in the new courts building: “This is a historic day, being the first sitting of the Central Criminal Court in the new criminal courts complex.
“By January 11th all the criminal courts will be installed in this building. Today is a day for testing the building and ensuring it is adequate to our needs.”
The judge then dealt with the arraignment of a man who pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse before moving on to deal with Doherty.
He said that the most aggravating factor was that Doherty left the scene of the argument, returned home and armed himself with a kitchen knife before returning to the scene to carry on the row.
There had been a devastating effect on the victim’s family. Doherty had pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was remorseful.
Mr Justice Carney sentenced Doherty to 10 years for manslaughter and four years for assault and ordered both sentences to run concurrently from December 16th, 2008.
The court was told at an earlier hearing that Mr Fahy died from a single stab wound to the back.
Det Sgt Michael O’Driscoll of Tuam Garda station told the court that Doherty was drinking in the same pub as Mr Fahy, Mr Costello and their girlfriends on the night of the killing. At closing time, Doherty drove home, got a kitchen knife with an 8in blade and returned to where Mr Fahy and Mr Costello were waiting for a taxi home.
An altercation followed during which Mr Fahy was stabbed once, just below the shoulder blade. Mr Costello also suffered a number of stab wounds.
The court heard how the victim’s father, John Joe Fahy, drove them to the hospital but that his son was pronounced dead at 2.30am having suffered “catastrophic blood loss”.
Det Sgt O’Driscoll said the owner of the pub took the knife from Doherty who then demanded to be served more alcohol. Doherty returned home where he was later arrested.
The court heard a statement from Mr Costello, who said he was still scarred from the wounds inflicted on him and that mentally the incident has had a “serious effect” on him. He said “never a day goes by” that he did not think of the “enormous loss suffered by Frank’s death”. Glenamaddy, he said, was once a place to meet friends and neighbours, but now for him it was a “town of horror”.