'My smile has been taken away from me': Man rendered unconscious in unprovoked Cork nightclub assault 

A young man socialising in a nightclub was rendered unconscious by two Cobh men who knocked him out on the dancefloor and now as they faced sentencing at the circuit court the man who spoke up for them was their victim.

Jacob Kelly-Wilmot of College Drive, College Manor, Cobh, County Cork, and Seán Thomas of Hartland’s Point, Cobh, pleaded guilty to a charge of assault causing harm to 21-year-old Darragh Cronin at the Secret Garden nightclub of Rearden’s on November 6 2022.

Sergeant John Gleeson showed CCTV of the dancefloor assault and described how the attack occurred.

Sgt. Gleeson said Seán Thomas points at the injured party with his elbow, unseen by the victim, and he also makes a second gesture of a sleeping person, putting his head to the side on his joined hands. 

This is immediately followed with him striking the injured party with his elbow into the face. Jacob Kelly-Wilmot can then be seen striking him on the floor. The two men then walk away, laughing, the sergeant said.

Victim impact statement 

The injured party gave a victim impact statement about the effects of this assault on him, not least having two front teeth knocked out. 

He said that apart from the pain and the high financial cost of dental repairs now and into the future he said it had affected his speech and even the way he smiles. He also described the embarrassment of having to explain that this was an unprovoked assault and not the result of a being in a fight.

At the end of his victim impact statement he said, “My smile has been taken away from me.” 

Mr Cronin asked Judge Jonathan Dunphy if he could say one more thing after presenting his victim impact, and the judge told him to go ahead. “I have no ill-will towards them. I forgive them. I don’t wish to see them going to prison,” Mr Cronin said.

Sentence 

After a brief adjournment when Judge Dunphy considered all the evidence in the sentencing hearing he decided to impose two-year jail terms but suspended them in full.

He specifically referred to the injured party’s comments at the end of his victim statement. “The injured party says they made a mistake and do not deserve to go to prison and have their lives destroyed. I have to commend his attitude. I was very impressed with the very mature way he dealt with it,” the judge said.

Turning to the two defendants he said that if they “as much as looked in the wrong direction” in another incident in the future they would be putting themselves at risk of prison.

'Sincere apology'

Paula McCarthy barrister on behalf of Mr Kelly-Wilmot said that he signed a plea of guilty. “He is regretful and remorseful and is deemed by the probation service to be a low risk of reoffending. He has offered a sincere apology for this totally unprovoked attack.” 

Alan O’Dwyer barrister said Mr Thomas had also signed a plead of guilty and cooperated with the investigation. 

Mr O’Dwyer said that Mr Thomas had brought €5,300 to court for the injured party. Mr Kelly-Wilmot brought another €5,300. Both defendants are in their 20s.

Mr Cronin’s dental bills alone have run into several thousand euro and are expected to cost a lot more into the future.

The two defendants approached the injured party to shake hands with them after the suspended jail terms were imposed at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.