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Man jailed for causing brain injury to Tuam man
Galway Bay fm newsroom – A 19-year-old man has been sentenced to five years in prison with the final two and a half years suspended for an assault which left a young Tuam man with catastrophic brain injuries.
Shane Byrne, a native of Tallaght, Dublin pleaded guilty at Galway Circuit Criminal Court last May to causing serious harm to Shane Grogan in Tuam, on August 5th, 2012.
Detective Sergeant Michael O’Driscoll told the sentencing hearing today that the assault happened in the early hours of the morning and Shane Byrne had struck the victim into the side of the head with a brick during an altercation.
Shane Grogan has been left with severe brain injuries and needs 24-hour nursing care.
His father, Joseph, read a victim impact statement to the court in which he said he and his family could never forgive the accused for what he described as a senseless act of violence.
The court was told Byrne had come to Tuam to find his estranged father a few weeks before the assault and would be haunted by what he did for the rest of his life.
Imposing sentence, Judge Rory McCabe said he accepted Byrne had not set out that night to intentionally harm anyone and it had been a senseless attack.
Afterwards, Mr Grogan said the family was happy the case was over and they just wanted to draw a line under it and get on with caring for their son.