Galway Bay fm newsroom - An Aran Islands native who admitted assaulting a man in Kildare who later died, has been jailed for two and a half years.
37 year old construction worker Paul Gill of Sarto Road, Naas, Co Kildare, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting deceased 58-year-old Patrick “Patsy” Kelly and his former neighbour, Martin Curtis, on August 22nd, 2015.
The jury in the trial heard evidence that the row was over late-night drinking and noise at Martin Curtis's home on Sarto Road in Naas spanning seven years.
Post-mortem evidence during the trial revealed Patsy Kelly died from heart disease and that the minor trauma from the assault was a contributing factor.
Today, Judge Melanie Greally noted that the victim had been kicked in the head while on the ground.
She noted in mitigation that Gill had entered a guilty plea, made admissions and expressed remorse.
The judge also noted the effects of his bail conditions had a punitive effect on his life.
One of the conditions of his bail was that he had to stay out of Kildare, apart from weekends when he could visit his family within their home.
Gardaí accepted that Gill missed the birth of his two youngest children as he had to move back to the Aran Islands and missed the ferry crossing.
Taking all the circumstances into account Judge Greally imposed a two and a half year sentence on Paul Gill in relation to the assault on Patsy Kelly and took the assault on Martin Curtis into account.
