Five men have apologised for their roles in an assault in which the victim was beaten with a metal bar, threatened with being raped using a stick, and branded with the word ‘rat’ seven times on his face and torso.
A lawyer for one of the five accused, Jason Hennessy (29), said his client bears “no ill-will” towards Barry Moore and wants the 34-year-old to be able to get on with his life.
Sgt Emma Ryan on Tuesday gave evidence at the Special Criminal Court about the Garda investigation into the attack.
She told the three-judge court that Moore declined to give evidence at a trial for four of the accused late last year “owing to the fact that he was afraid”.
Garnet Orange, for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), said Moore did not want any involvement in the sentence hearing and had not provided a victim impact statement.
The sergeant said the victim is still recovering, remains in “quite a bit of pain” and has had skin grafts to help heal his burns. Gardaí found the cattle branding iron used on Moore in an area of waste ground, she said.
During the assault, Moore suffered a fractured elbow from a blow of an iron bar and multiple small stab wounds to his legs, the court heard.
The sergeant said that at the time of the assault, there was a feud between the Hennessys and an organised crime gang based in Finglas. Jason Hennessy referenced two members of that gang when demanding that Moore “tell the truth” about what he had said to those individuals. He referenced the feud again when he demanded to know who had set him up for an attack while he was at a Costa coffee shop, the witness said.
Jason Hennessy and his brothers, Brandon (22) and Devon (30), asked the court to consider the trauma they suffered following the shooting dead of their father, Jason Hennessy snr, at Browne’s Steakhouse in Blanchardstown, Dublin, on Christmas Eve 2023.
Gardaí outside Browne’s Steakhouse in Blanchardstown where Tristan Sherry was fatally injured and Jason Hennessy snr was shot on Christmas Eve 2023. Hennessy later died from his injuries. Photograph: Stephen Collins/Collins
The court heard that at the time of the assault on Moore, Brandon Hennessy was on bail charged with violent disorder arising out of the steakhouse incident, during which gunman Tristan Sherry was beaten to death.
Jason and Devon Hennessy, of Sheephill Avenue, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, were also on bail at the time arising from District Court charges.
Mark Lynam, for Devon Hennessy (above) told the court his client was the ‘least culpable’ of all the accused. Photograph: Collins Dublin
Last year, the State accepted pleas of guilty to assault causing harm against four of the defendants, an offence that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Kenneth Fitzsimons (45) and his son Dean Fitzsimons (25), of Castlecurragh Vale, Mulhuddart, Dublin, had been charged, along with the three Hennessy brothers, with offences including causing serious harm and false imprisonment, both of which carry potential life sentences.
The DPP accepted the pleas to the lesser charge after Moore refused to give evidence.
Before it became apparent that the victim was not going to give evidence, Devon Hennessy, of Edgewood Lawns, Corduff, Dublin 15, pleaded guilty to falsely imprisoning Moore and assisting a criminal organisation to inflict serious harm on him.
Mark Lynam, for Devon Hennessy, on Tuesday told the court his client was the least culpable of all the accused and should be given a lesser sentence despite pleading guilty to more serious offences.
He said Devon had intervened to prevent others inflicting violence on Moore and from an early stage was urging his co-defendants to let the victim leave.
Lynam said his client pleaded guilty after being given an ultimatum by his partner and, on release from custody, he intends to get a job and break his association with “bad influences”.
John Fitzgerald, for Jason Hennessy, said his client feels remorse for his role in the assault and wanted to express that to the victim. He said his client wants to be a good father and does not wish to be defined by this assault or by how he is portrayed in the media.
John Berry, for Brandon Hennessy, said the violent death of his client’s father “led to a great deal of anger in him”, but he has spent one year in custody “reflecting on where that anger has brought him”. He said his client wants to apologise to Moore for the “pain and suffering” and for taking up court and garda time.
Michael Bowman, for Dean Fitzsimons, apologised to Moore on behalf of his client, who he said wants to “turn his life around”. Keith Spencer, for Kenneth Fitzsimons, said it is a “source of great shame” for his client that he has contributed to the “cycle of criminality” by participating in the offence with his son. He also apologised to Moore.
Ms Justice Karen O’Connor adjourned sentencing to March 25th.