Co Longford man who admits one-punch attack has case adjourned

A man who pleaded guilty to seriously injuring another man in a one-punch attack in Co Longford has had his case adjourned until next year for a probation report.

Longford Circuit Court heard Sean McCormack (19), of Rath Reagh, Smithfield, Legan, Co Longford, struck Zach Martin in the back of the head in Ballymahon on November 13th, 2021, causing serious head injuries.

The two men had been socialising separately in Ballymahon and were on the town’s Main Street when Mr Martin was observed by McCormack and a number of others having “a verbal altercation” with another man.

Footage played in court showed the two teenagers walking in opposite directions before McCormack ran over and swung at Mr Martin’s head, knocking him to the ground, where he lay unconscious. The footage shows the accused doing what the victim described as “a celebratory dance” on his way back to his friends.

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Mr Martin was brought to Mullingar Hospital where a CAT scan revealed serious head injuries. He was transferred to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin where he received an emergency craniotomy.

Det Garda Damien McGovern told the court McCormack attended at Longford Garda station where he was arrested and cautioned.

McCormack admitted to the assault and said he had been drinking and had consumed another substance. “He said he approached Mr Martin and asked if he was okay but he was told to f**k off so he hit him,” said Det Garda McGovern.

Det Garda McGovern told the court that the two men “would know each other” but there had been no issues between them earlier in the night.

During questioning, McCormack expressed “complete remorse”, the court heard. He said “I really, really, really regret doing it; I shouldn’t have done it” and “I really do hope he’s okay”.

The video of the assault was widely shared on social media, Det Garda McGovern told the court.

“Social media has a lot to answer for,” said Judge Keenan Johnson. “If somebody thinks that’s entertainment, it’s disgusting behaviour.”

In his victim impact statement, Mr Martin said he woke up on November 13th, 2021, in a hospital bed, “covered in tubes, blood and with the sound of beeping machines”.

He told Judge Johnson how he underwent three brain surgeries within five months.

“I didn’t know if I’d wake up after or if I’d be the same,” he said. “This was an assault for entertainment and as I lay on the ground, Sean McCormack did a celebratory dance.”

The court heard that McCormack has no previous convictions, co-operated fully with gardaí and that he had a sum of €5,000 in court for Mr Martin.

The judge ordered the €5,000 be furnished to the court to be passed on to Mr Martin as “only a token”.

McCormack was remanded on continuing bail to May 9th, 2023, when a probation report and an updated victim impact statement will be furnished to the court.