Dublin man fined €5,000 after hitting drinking partner who slagged him off for not buying a round

As it turns out, buying the round would have been a lot less costly.

A Dublin man was given a four-year suspended jail sentence and ordered to pay €5,000 in compensation to a man he struck in a bar after being slagged off for not buying his round. According to the Irish Times, 39-year old James Hogan pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing harm to Anthony Donegan at the Concorde Pub, Coolock on August 8th, 2011. The court was told that Hogan had been drinking in the pub since 12.30 that day and was joined by Donegan at approximately 6.30pm. A witness said that the two men were drinking together and that after Donegan had bought a round, he started to slag Hogan off for not returning the favour. The two men subsequently went out for a cigarette and a heated debate ensued, following which Donegan said he was sorry. When Donegan said to Hogan that he could hit him if it would make him feel better, Hogan declined once before punching Donegan in the face. A witness told Garda Niall Gibbs that Donegan “went down like a pack of cards” and hit his head at the bottom of some steps. He was taken to hospital, with his injuries requiring two months' treatment, following which he was unable to resume his job as a fish cutter in Howth. The fact that Hogan had no previous judgements was recognised and it was pointed out that he had been drinking heavily at the time, when he was unemployed for the first time in his life. Hogan had brought €5,000 to the court to offer as compensation and while Judge Martin Nolan acknowledged that Hogan had not intended to harm Donegan, he also pointed out the devastating impact that one punch can have.