A 30-year-old man attacked his then partner on a morning bus in the Blackrock area of Cork – punching and kicking her to the face and body – and now he has been jailed for one year.

Judge Dara Hayes imposed the sentence on Edmond O’Sullivan of no fixed address. It was measured at two years with the second year suspended at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

Judge Hayes said, “It was a clearly unprovoked attack where he punched her in the face, aimed a kick at her but missed. He followed her when she went to the back of the bus and he punched and kicked towards her face and body.”

The judge noted that the Bus Eireann driver assisted the young woman. No visible injuries were noted by the bus driver or by investigating gardaí.

Judge Hayes said, “It is clear that harm was caused but it falls into the lower level of harm as defined by the Act. But the assault was not. 

"It was an unprovoked attack where a man attacked his partner. This was a serious assault although the outcome was not as serious as it might have been.”

30-year-old Edmond O’Sullivan appeared by video link from prison at Cork Circuit Criminal Court for sentencing on the charge of assault causing harm.

Bus Eireann alerted gardaí to the incident on the 202 bus while it was going through Blackrock Village on December 14 2020 and Garda Ciara Collins investigated the matter.

Garda Collins arrested Edmond O’Sullivan, then 28, who had addresses at Shandon Street, Cork, and Mahon, Cork, at that time, and charged him with assault causing harm to the young woman with whom he had been in a relationship.

Garda Collins said, “He struck her during what was a sustained attack on his partner. 

"He struck her with his fists. The incident was witnessed by people on the bus in the run-up to Christmas,” Garda Collins said.

The young woman said during his earlier bail application that she did not trust her ex-partner and was in fear of him.

Emmet Boyle, defence barrister, said the defendant and complainant had travelled together on the bus. He said the defendant apologised, was addressing his drug issues and added that if it was of any consolation to gardaí or the injured party he planned to live away from Cork whenever he was released from prison.

The sentence was backdated to January as he has been in custody since then.