‘Intolerable violence’: man jailed for involvement in life threatening Mullingar stabbing

‘Intolerable violence’: Man jailed for involvement in life-threatening Mullingar stabbing

A man who took rocks to a violent feud-related attack of “intolerable violence” which left another man with life-threatening stab wounds has been jailed for two and a half years.

Bradley McEntee (25), with an address at Dalton Park, Mullingar, County Westmeath, appeared before Judge Kenneth Connolly at Mullingar Circuit Court, where he pleaded guilty to violent disorder on Austin Friar Street on August 2, 2024, which resulted in life-threatening injuries to Anthony Dinnegan Jnr.

Detective Garda Adrian O’Reilly outlined to the court that there had been a feud between the Nevin and Dinnegan families and gardaí had received reports of a disturbance on Austin Friar street at 5pm that day. When they arrived, nobody was present.

They went to the Dinnegan family home, where they were informed Anthony Dinnegan Jnr had been badly beaten and taken to hospital.

The court heard how Mr Dinnegan Jnr, his wife and child fled from their home after threats were made to burn their apartment. CCTV footage showed his wife running to a nearby business with the child, before Mr Dinnegan was chased by a group of men.

One of those men, Mr McEntee, could be seen on CCTV footage holding rocks. He was serving a suspended sentence for a serious drugs offence, the court heard, and was associated with the Nevin family.

Mr Dinnegan Jnr was badly beaten and stabbed multiple times by members of the Nevin family.

Judge Connolly noted that there was no evidence Mr Bradley had participated in the attack, but the incident was one of “intolerable violence” and the court needed to send out the message that “feuding in this court equals imprisonment”.

In his victim impact statement, Mr Dinnegan said his three-year-old daughter had witnessed the vicious attack by members of the Nevin family.

“I look into her eyes and see the fear no child should ever experience,” he said, adding that he is “a shell of the man I once was” and “the scars on my body are a constant reminder”.

He said he no longer feels safe in his own home and feels “a deep sense of vulnerability” and is constantly looking over his shoulder.

Mr Dinnegan said he suffers PTSD and nightmares every night and that he “will never be the same person” he was: “I will carry the scars, both physical and emotional, for the rest of my life.”

Mr McEntee, in a letter of apology to Mr Dinnegan, said he was “willing to do whatever it takes to repair the damage and regain your trust”.

“I found myself in with the wrong crowd at the wrong time,” he told the court.

Judge Connolly said that Mr Dinnegan Jnr is “lucky to be alive” following the “horrendous stab wounds to many parts of his body”. Among his extensive injuries were a perforated colon and injuries to his lungs.

While he noted Mr McEntee was not directly involved in inflicting the injuries, he was “a cog in the machine” and “voluntarily involved himself” in the chase.

“He was sucked in by hanging around with the wrong people, but he’s an adult. He chose to involve himself in this violent disorder,” he said.

He noted the accused had armed himself with rocks and stones, which is “not a civilised thing to do”, on a “very busy Friday afternoon”.

The victim’s wife is seen on CCTV “almost dislocating the child’s arm from her shoulder socket trying to lift her up and bring her into a business for safety”, he said.

Feuding is “utterly intolerable”, he said, adding that he doesn’t care “how it’s dressed up” – “it is intolerable violence and I will not stand for it”.

He noted Mr McEntee was just one year into a fully suspended four years and six months sentence at the time of the offence and the court had to take “a very, very dim view” of that.

He set a four-year, four-month headline sentence, but, noting such mitigating factors as a plea of guilty, an apology and the fact Mr McEntee is a father of three, he reduced it to three years and three months and suspended the final nine months for 18 months post release.

Christopher Nevin (31), with an address at Grange Crescent, Mullingar, and Michael Nevin (41), of Grange Heights, Mullingar, were previously charged with the attempted murder of Mr Dinnegan Jnr.

Michael Nevin entered a guilty plea to assault causing serious harm and was jailed in November for eight years at the Central Criminal Court.

Christopher Nevin pleaded guilty to violent disorder and was jailed for four years in the same court.