A man has been jailed for 10 years for the manslaughter of Mr Brian Mulvaney (19), who was attacked and beaten to death in a south Dublin suburb in March 2000.
At the Central Criminal Court yesterday Stephen Aherne (19), formerly of Willington Crescent, Templeogue, and with an address in Newbridge, Co Kildare, was jailed for his part in Mr Mulvaney's death in Templeogue on March 11th, 2000.
Besides the 10-year term, he also received a three-year concurrent jail sentence for two separate assaults, one involving a broken pint glass, in the hours preceding the fatal attack on Mr Mulvaney.
Two months after a jury convicted him of Mr Mulvaney's manslaughter, Aherne pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to Mr Matthew O'Dowd at Templeogue Road, Terenure, on March 11th, 2000. He also pleaded guilty to an assault in which he produced a drinking glass in a manner likely to intimidate Mr Karl Dunne at Templeogue Road on the same date.
Mr Larry Mulvaney broke down as he told the court that when his son, Brian, died "part of us died with him".
Mr Mulvaney spoke of an exuberant and fun-loving son, who had played basketball with the Irish under-16s squad in the Czech Republic.
He recalled his son's head injuries were so bad that he could only identify him by his shoes and hands. "I seen it was him, but it didn't look like him," he said.
Mr Mulvaney, saying it was not good enough to blame the "drinking culture" for such violence, called for tougher sentencing for perpetrators. "There has to be a line in the sand to show that if you cross it this is what's going to happen to you," he said.
His wife Annie and Brian's sister Aoife were visibly upset as they listened to Mr Mulvaney's emotional comments. "If Stephen Aherne gets 50 or five years for him it is finished. For us it's everlasting," he concluded.
Brian Mulvaney died from the inhalation of blood due to the suppression of his cough reflex, which in turn was caused by concussion as a result of head injuries. His partially clothed body was discovered lying in the middle of the road at the Watercourse in Orwell Estate.
Imposing sentence, Mr Justice White referred to the "senseless and violent" nature of the attack, which Aherne took part in when aged just 15.
"A halt must be called to gratuitous violence in our society and a loud and clear message must go out from these courts that it will not be tolerated," he said. He added that taking account of Aherne's "tender years" and other mitigating factors, he had reduced a heavier sentence to a 10-year prison term.
Mr Justice White pointed to the fact that alcohol had "in some way" influenced Aherne's behaviour on the fatal night.
Det Sgt Joe Molloy gave evidence that Aherne told gardaí he was served 10 pints of beer and a sambuca at a 21st birthday party in the CYM club in Terenure.
"The holders of licences, publicans and their staff have a responsibility. I don't say this excuses your conduct, but this matter should be on their conscience for the rest of their lives," he said.
Aherne read a statement to the court apologising to the victim's family for the "horror and disgust" of his actions. "I cannot undo what happened, I wish I could," he said. "I'm sorry for the part I played in the death of Brian Mulvaney and the pain I've brought my family and to the Mulvaneys," he said.
A second man, Brian Willoughby (24), is already serving a life sentence for Mr Mulvaney's murder following his conviction by a jury in April. A third man, Neal Barbour (20), Domville Road, Templeogue, was acquitted but faces further charges in relation to alleged assaults on the night of March 11th, 2000.