Prison for man who had coke, hash, tablets and drink

A DEFENDANT told Tuam Court that he had cocaine, hash, pills, beer and vodka on the night of a serious assault in his home. But he wasn't drunk, he assured Judge Geoffrey Browne. Before the Court was Tommy Conroy, 57 Rivercrest, Tuam, who faced two assault charges. Padraic Ward told the Court that he and his girlfriend Sharon Keegan paid a social call to the Conroy home on the night of December 10, 2010. They'd had a few drinks before they arrived and brought along 15 bottles of Budweiser. [private] Things were going fine with Conroy and his partner until Conroy left for about 30 minutes to check on his father who was seriously ill. When he returned he began abusing Sharon and the witness said he intervened to protect her. He said Conroy then turned on him, punching him in the face and kicking him on the floor where he fell. He got up and assisted Sharon to get out of the house but Conroy followed, assaulting him again in the garden and then attacked Sharon, beating and kicking her on the ground. He said his face was 'broke up' as a result. Conroy threatened to kill them both. They went to Tuam Garda Station where they made a complaint of assault. They later attended hospital to have their injuries checked. Both had bruised faces and black eyes. Photos of their injuries taken in the Garda Station were presented to the Judge. How could witness remember Gearoid Geraghty solr (defending) for Conroy asked the witness how it was, if he was drinking heavily and smoking hash, he could remember so much. Ward insisted he remembered the night clearly. The defence put it to Ward that he had attacked his own girlfriend and Conroy had intervened to stop this assault. His client had been defending himself, he argued. In the witness box Samantha Keegan, Ward's girlfriend, corroborated his version of event. She said Conroy began abusing her and then attacked Padraic Ward. She recalled him holding on to a chair to keep his balance as he kicked her boyfriend on the floor. Outside Conroy punched her to the ground and kicked her repeatedly in the face. He stamped on her head, breaking her glasses in the process. She denied the defence suggestion that her own boyfriend attacked her. In evidence Conroy said he had a few tablets, sniffed a bit of Coke and smoked some hash as well as having a few drinks but he wasn't drunk. He admitted to taking a 'cocktail of drugs' that night. He was 'all over the shop' because his father was very ill at the time. He claimed Ward attacked his own girlfriend and he stopped it and threw them out because his two children were upstairs and he didn't what that sort of thing going on in his house. He'd seen Ward beat up women before. He admitted there were blows exchanged but he insisted he acted in self-defence and had not caused the problem. Gearoid Geraghty asked Judge Browne to dismiss the case as, given the amount of drink and drugs consumed that night, there must surely be a doubt over the evidence presented to the Court. Judge Browne said he had no doubt and convicted Conroy on both assault charges, sentencing him to 18 months in prison. Recognisances were fixed in the event of an appeal. [/private]