Kells man who tried to enter bar assaulted security man

Judge Eirinn McKiernan complimented a security man for the manner in which he played down an assault on him.

The injured party told the Judge at Trim District Court that he recovered over a period of time and got on with life, admitting he was out of sorts for a while.

Jason Tallon (51), Headfort Grove, Kells arrived at the Keltic Bar in the town at 1.30am when it was closed and trying to remove patrons. The defendant arrived and sought to gain entry. He was refused and struck the injured party, Sergeant Peter Clarke stated.

The sergeant said from the CCTV footage it was not clear that a headbutt was involved, but there were a number of strikes to the face.

Mr Tallon entered a guilty plea and the circumstances surrounding the incident on 1st January 2025 were outlined to Judge McKiernan on Thursday. The pergeant said that the defendant had 28 previous convictions between 1998 and 2017, six of which were for assault.

Defence barrister James O’Brien explained that the defendant was earlier in the premises and was the victim of assault and removed. He was after being unconscious and had little or no memory of what occurred.

The defendant offered an apology and had €500 in court as a token of his remorse, which the injured party was willing to accept.

Mr O’Brien pointed out that the defendant’s last conviction for assault was in 2009.

Judge McKiernan convicted and imposed a two month prison sentence on the defendant which she suspended for 12 months.

- Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme