Seven people have been sentenced, six of them jailed, for their part in an attack during which a 20-year-old man was kicked and beaten to death in Tallaght three years ago
Dale Creighton died in hospital the day after the attack in the early hours of New Year's Day 2014.
The cause of his death was blunt force injury to his head and face.
The Six men and one woman were originally charged with murder and went on trial at the Central Criminal Court in October, after pleading not guilty.
However, those charges were dropped on the 15th day of the trial, after they pleaded guilty to lesser charges and had their new pleas accepted.
Today, five men were each sentenced to ten years in prison, with portions suspended depending on their culpability and circumstances.
Graham Palmer, 26, with an address at Park Avenue, Portarlington, Co Laois, was jailed for five years; Ross Callery, 23, with an address at Gortlum Cottages, Brittas in Co Dublin, and who the judge described as one of the primary assailants, was jailed for six years.
David Burke, 28, of Beechpark, Collinstown, Co Westmeath, was jailed for seven-and-a-half years; Jason Beresford, 23, with an address at Coill Diarmuida, Ard a' Laoi, Castledermot, Co Kildare, was jailed for six years and Gerard Stevens, 27, currently of Grosvenor Square, Rathmines in Dublin was jailed for three years.
Aisling Burke, 23, with a current address at Beechpark, Collinstown, Co Westmeath, pleaded guilty to violent disorder and was sentenced to five years with the last four suspended for two years.
Ms Justice Deirdre Murphy adjourned imposing a sentence for a week to give the single mother time to arrange childcare.
James Reid, 26, currently of Glen Aoibhinn, Gorey, Co Wexford, pleaded guilty to possession of a knife and was given a two-year suspended sentence.
Passing sentence, Ms Justice Murphy said the seven accused are not evil, and were not even bad people, but they individually and collectively contributed to Mr Creighton's death.
The 20-year-old was attacked at a footbridge in Tallaght in the early hours of 1 January 2014.
The court was told during the trial that he was subjected to a sustained attack, which included kicks and stamps to his body and head.
He was also "struck while he was held like a rag doll", dragged to the steps of the footbridge and thrown down them, before "being picked up and brought back up".
Justice Ms Justice Murphy said it was particularly frightening that normal, average young people could do such a thing.
She said this is not confined to Tallaght but could also happen in the leafy suburbs among the most privileged youths.
The judge said rough justice is no justice; no one has the right to take the law into their own hands and those who do must suffer the consequences.
She said the rule of law is a protection for everyone and those who took the life of Mr Creighton must answer for their actions.
Mr Creighton's family had all left by the time Reid entered the witness box and entered a €1,000 bond to be of good behaviour for two years
"Mr Reid, you're free to go," said the judge. "Be careful."
Family criticise sentencing as too lenient
A friend of the Creighton family, Helena D'Arcy, gave a short statement outside the courthouse following the sentencing
"Our lives dramatically changed on the morning of New Year's Day 2014," they said. "Needless to say, the past few years have been extremely traumatic for our family as we have anxiously waited for this day.
"Dale was then and still is the centre of our world. The happiness and joy we once shared is now gone, as we can no longer enjoy Dale's presence in our lives.
"It is only the unending and deep love we have for Dale that gives us the strength to move forward.
"Dale was a shy young man who loved his family unconditionally. He was loved by so many people.
"He had his whole life ahead of him but on that dreadful New Year's morning those people decided it was their right to take it away. Because of their vicious actions we now have an everlasting ache in our hearts.
"While we appreciate the difficulty Judge Murphy had in sentencing these individuals, we as a family consider them to be too lenient, especially the one-year sentence of Aisling Burke, and the suspended sentence of James Reid," they said.
The family thanked gardaí, for what they described as an "exemplary investigation". They also thanked the prosecution team, the Garda family liaison officers and Victim Support at Court.
Detective Superintendent Brian Sutton said the force's thoughts were with the family and friends of Mr Creighton.
"We hope the results of today may bring some bit of closure and some solace to the tragedy they have gone through over the last few years," he said.
"This was a difficult investigation and An Garda Síochána would like to thank the people of Tallaght who have come forward yet again in this investigation and assisted us in bringing us to this outcome today."
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
