Self-described '50-year-old virgin' found guilty of assault causing harm to Cork neighbour

A farmer who described himself as “a 50-year-old virgin” as he punched his neighbour in the face and kicked her when she was on the ground, accusing her of stealing his mother’s post, has been found guilty.

Despite denying that he said or did anything or even knew the victim, the unanimous decision of the eight men and four women of the jury to find Hugh O’Brien guilty of assault causing harm was reached after less than one hour of deliberations at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

'The jury got it wrong'

No sooner had the jury left the room than Mr O’Brien spoke up in the dock: “The jury got it wrong – W.R.O.N.G. – I am innocent of this charge.” 

The speed with which he spoke up was in stark contrast to the speed with which he answered questions from his own barrister and prosecution barrister yesterday when he took one to two minutes of a pause before answering almost every question. 

When he was being sworn in to give evidence, repeating after the registrar each clause of the oath to tell the truth – a process that ordinarily takes a matter of a few seconds - it took Hugh O’Brien seven minutes.

Following the unanimous guilty verdict today, prosecution barrister Katherine McGillycuddy applied to have him remanded in custody for sentencing on Friday, when the retired solicitor who was attacked by Hugh O’Brien will give her victim impact statement. Brian Leahy, defence barrister, applied for bail.

Judge Colin Daly remanded the convicted man in custody until February 23, saying, “Your client has shown extraordinary contempt for the court. He was late on every occasion. At the outset of the case I asked him to remove his (baseball) hat and mask.” 

But he wore them throughout the trial and only removed them for the duration of his giving of evidence when the judge said he had to do so for the jury to see him giving evidence. It was only following a consultation with his own barrister that he removed them to give evidence.

In the absence of the jury he initially said to Judge Daly, “I have no intention of taking off my hat and mask. I wear it everywhere… Covid is rampant. People are coughing, sneezing and farting in court… There are farters, coughers, sneezers and spitters in this room.”

Mr Leahy, his own barrister, told him it would be in his own best interests to remove his hat and mask to give evidence.

Judge Daly said it was a basic requirement that the jury would be able to see him.

Unanimous verdict 

Today – following the unanimous guilty verdict being delivered by the jury – Judge Daly said, “I cannot be content that considering the contempt he has shown I am not satisfied he will not remain contemptuous of the court and not show up for sentencing.” 

The victim in the case, Mary O’Brien Daly, said in her evidence in the trial, “I really thought he was going to kill me.” 

Mrs O’Brien Daly, of Ballyanly, Inniscarra, said the defendant’s mother’s name is Mary O’Brien and that a few times over the years her post had gone to the O’Brien Daly house. When it occurred, the witness said she redirected it and put it back in the post.

On December 8 2021 she said Hugh O’Brien called to her home with an envelope in his hand and accused her of stealing his mother’s post for the last 25 years.

The witness said, “He made a drive towards me, he closed his fist, he caught me under the eye and knocked out a contact lens. He was saying – it was almost like a mantra – ‘You are making my life hell’. He struck me on the shoulder and knocked me to the ground.

“He bent down over me and caught me by the shoulders and yanked me to my feet. He had his face in on top of my face. I could feel his breath on my face. He was repeating, ‘You are in cahoots with that bollocks next door. And me, a 50-year-old virgin.’ He kind of pushed me backwards. I got my hand on the gate and I just ran.” 

Hugh O’Brien, who is now 52, testified, “I assaulted nobody… I said nothing that was said in court. I said nothing to anyone… I never met this person who you say knows me, until this person came to court and made accusations against me. Never met the person. Never in my life. Don’t know her. End of story.”

Asked about taking notes in the witness box while being questioned, he said, “If you are accused of something in the wrong I think it would be stupid of anyone to come into a David and Goliath situation of the DPP and the guards – who are very selective about who they prosecute and who they don’t – I think I would be stupid to take down nothing in this David V Goliath situation.”