Man who hit victim with lifebuoy during Cork city assault jailed

A 51-year-old man who used a lifebuoy to strike a man over the head in the course of a city centre assault has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Judge Helen Boyle sentenced Gordon Sheerin, aged 51, of no fixed address in Cork, to two years’ imprisonment with the last six months suspended, backdated to October 15, 2025, when he went into custody.

Garda Stephen O’Sullivan said that at around 6pm on October 15 last year, gardaí responded to a report of an incident at Lower Oliver Plunkett St in Cork city, in relation to an assault.

“At the scene, gardaí observed a man bleeding from the head and face and he was lying on the ground in a semi-conscious state,” said Garda O’Sullivan.

“He was later removed to the Mercy University Hospital for medical treatment.

“Gardai viewed CCTV footage of the alleged incident and observed a male who is known to gardaí as Gordon Sheerin, of no fixed address, on CCTV.”

Defence barrister Elaine Audley said there was no statement of complaint from the other man, and that even though the case was based entirely on CCTV evidence, Mr Sheerin pleaded guilty to the charge of assault causing harm, adding: “He entirely accepts he was in the wrong.