Two men have been jailed for their part in an unprovoked attack on three Afghani nationals, including a 13-year-old boy who had been on a cycling trip in a park.

Statements such as “what are you doing in my country?” and “what have you done to my fu*king family?” were shouted at the three Afghani males.

Joseph Connors (22), of Daltree Place, Ballycullen, Dublin, and John Connors (20), of Ballyogan Grove, Carrickmines, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to violent disorder in Ballinteer, Dublin, on May 5th, 2016.

Judge Cormac Quinn imposed prison sentences of three years on both men. He suspended the last 18 months on condition they keep the peace and engage with Probation Services for that period.

He said both men took part in a vicious attack on entirely innocent people. He refused a request from lawyers for Joseph Connors to remand him on bail until after Christmas as his wife is due to give birth on Christmas Day.

The court heard that as a result of the attack one of the men had left Ireland and returned to Afghanistan because he felt safer there.

Garda John Healy told Derek Cooney, prosecuting, that three males from Afghanistan had been cycling in Marlay Park, south Dublin, and were on a cycling lane along a road when men began shouting at them from an adjacent car.

The car driven by John Connors, which contained Joseph Connors and two other men, pulled in front of the three males and they were forced to stop. Several men got out of the car and confronted the three males.

Defend himself

A man, who was not before the court, punched one of the adults in the head. When the victim tried to defend himself the other three men from the car began attacking all three Afghanis.

Gardaí obtained CCTV evidence from a passing Dublin Bus and several of its passengers who recorded the incident on their phones. The footage shows Joseph Connors aiming two kicks at a man who had been knocked to the ground.

The footage also shows John Connors knocking one of the men to the ground with a punch, then knocking the teenager to the ground with a punch and kicking him while he was on the ground.

The four men fled from the scene in their car.

One of the Afghani nationals sustained a broken nose during the incident. He has had several operations on his nose, none of which were covered by a medical card.

The thirteen-year-old boy has since left the country because “he doesn’t feel safe here”.

Joseph Connors has 56 previous convictions for offences including burglary, trespassing with intent and public order offences. The majority of these were District Court convictions, with the exception of a hit-and-run conviction dealt with in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

John Connors has two previous convictions for minor road offences.

Client

Sarah-Jane O’Callaghan, defending, said her client Joseph Connors had been told that a child from his halting site was being bullied by the “Middle-Eastern family”. Garda Healy said there was “no evidence whatsoever” supporting this claim.

Ms O’Callaghan put it to Garda Healy that Joseph Connors had not been racially motivated to attack the males. Garda Healey agreed that he “doesn’t know him to be racist”.

Kenneth Kerins , defending, said his client John Connors had been an “excellent underage boxer.” He had been intoxicated at the time of the incident, and he had only joined the melee after it had already began.