Kildare 'sportsman' jailed for manslaughter following assault during melee outside Monasterevin pub

Dylan McCarthy, 29, died following an incident in which he received punches and a kick to the head outside a pub in Monasterevin, Co Kildare

A 25-year-old “sportsman” has been jailed for six years and three months for the manslaughter of a another man who died after he was assaulted during a melee outside a Kildare pub nearly three years ago.  

In passing sentence at the Central Criminal Court this Monday, Ms Justice Caroline Biggs said the prosecution had argued that Calvin Dunne had taken “a running kick” at Dylan McCarthy while he was on the ground, but having viewed the CCTV footage again, the judge said that it seemed to her to be “a one-stride kick” that made contact to the head.  

A co-accused, 27-year-old Sean Kavanagh, was jailed for two years and two months having been convicted of assault causing harm and violent disorder arising out of the same incident, at Dublin Road, Monasterevin, Kildare, on August 21, 2022.  

Dunne, of Abbey View, Monasterevin, County Kildare, was acquitted of murder but convicted of Dylan McCarthy’s manslaughter by a Central Criminal Court jury following a trial earlier this year.

He was also found guilty of violent disorder, having denied both charges. 

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Two weeks into the trial, Kavanagh, with an address at St Mary’s Lane, Church Avenue, Monasterevin, pleaded guilty to a charge of assault causing harm to Eamonn McCarthy, the father of the deceased.

A charge of violent disorder was taken into consideration.  

After a defence application, Ms Justice Biggs then directed the jury to find Kavanagh not guilty of the murder of Dylan McCarthy, a charge he had denied.    

It was the State's case that Dylan McCarthy, 29, died following an incident in which he received punches and a kick to the head from Dunne while he was attempting to get up off the ground outside the Bellyard pub in Monasterevin.   

Two eyewitnesses told the jury that Dylan McCarthy, who had travelled from Limerick for a family gathering, was kicked in the head, with one describing the noise as “a loud thud” that was “like kicking a football”, while the other said it sounded “like a car door” shutting.  

Dunne contended, however, that he was acting in self-defence, that Mr McCarthy was himself “involved in violence” on the night and that he did not kick the deceased in the head.     

Mr McCarthy’s cause of death was a traumatic head injury and spinal injury caused by blunt force trauma.  

State pathologist Dr Heidi Okkers told the jury it was not possible to determine whether a punch or kick caused the fatal injury that led to Mr McCarthy’s death.  

In delivering her sentence, Ms Justice Biggs said that a probation report on Dunne indicated that he had a clear understanding of what he had done and was at a low risk of reoffending. She noted he was a good sportsman who was loved by his friends and family and who had no previous convictions.  

On the manslaughter charge, Ms Justice Biggs set a headline sentence of nine years, which she reduced by 25% to six years and nine months, with the final six months suspended for 12 months to encourage his further rehabilitation.  

The violent disorder charge was taken into consideration.   

In the case of Kavanagh, for the assault causing harm charge, Ms Justice Biggs said the offence belonged in the very upper end of the mid-range, with a headline sentence of 40 months.

She reduced this by 25% to two years and six months, with the final four months suspended for 12 months to ensure rehabilitation. The violent disorder charge was taken into consideration.

In the case of Kavanagh, for the assault causing harm charge, Ms Justice Biggs said the offence belonged in the very upper end of the mid-range, with a headline sentence of 40 months. She reduced this by 25% to two years and six months, with the final four months suspended for 12 months to ensure rehabilitation. The violent disorder charge was taken into consideration.  

After delivering the sentences, Ms Justice Biggs said she had to apply the law to this case, as she thanked all the families for being present in the courtroom. Remarking that “no doubt everyone is distressed”, Ms Justice Biggs said that the two defendants will return home when their sentences are served and hopefully pick up the pieces of their lives, but Dylan McCarthy will not.   

The trial heard that on the night of the fatal assault in August 2022, a row broke out after a drink was spilled in the pub and the group that Dylan and Eamonn McCarthy were with were ejected from the premises.  

Dunne told gardai that when a group of people came out of the pub and a fight broke out, he saw Kavanagh fighting with Dylan and Eamonn McCarthy.  

Dunne said that at one point, Dylan McCarthy went to hit Kavanagh from behind, so Dunne grabbed Dylan McCarthy by the wrist.  

He told gardaí Dylan McCarthy turned to punch him, so Dunne hit him in the “chin or jaw” area, causing him to fall. Dunne said he then “lightly kicked” Dylan to what he believed was “the chest area”.  

The defendant told gardaí that Dylan and Eamonn McCarthy were being “extremely violent”.    

“Everything I did was to stop them attacking Sean, I didn’t drill him or kick him viciously,” Dunne said.  

Kavanagh told gardaí he looked into the pub after hearing shouting and saw staff being assaulted. He said he tried to help remove the group causing the disturbance.  

He said the fight spilled out onto the street, at which point he said members of this group started to punch and assault him as he attempted to remove them. 

Kavanagh said a man in his 50s put him in a headlock, causing him to feel “extremely fearful” for his safety. After he got out of the headlock, he said punches were exchanged and he struck the man in self-defence.  

The jury heard Eamonn McCarthy sustained a fractured jaw and required surgery and five plates to treat his injuries. He also sustained a broken nose and a hairline fracture around one of his eye sockets. He waited until after Dylan’s funeral had taken place to have the operation. 

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