Five men have apologised for their roles in an assault in which a man was beaten with a metal bar, threatened with being raped using a stick and branded with the word "rat" seven times on his face and torso.
A lawyer for one of the five, Jason Hennessy, 29, said his client bears "no ill-will" towards the victim Barry Moore, 34, and wants Mr Moore to be able to get on with his life.
Sgt Emma Ryan today detailed the garda investigation into the attack and told the three-judge Special Criminal Court that Mr Moore declined to give evidence at a trial for four of the accused late last year "owing to the fact that he was afraid".
Garnet Orange SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said Mr Moore did not want any involvement in the sentence hearing and had not made a victim impact statement.
Jason Hennessy and his two brothers, Brandon, 22, and Devon, 30, asked the court to consider the trauma they suffered following the shooting dead of their father, Jason Hennessy Snr, in Browne's Steakhouse in Blanchardstown on Christmas Eve 2023.
The court heard that at the time of the assault on Mr Moore, Brandon Hennessy was on bail charged with violent disorder arising out of the Steakhouse attack, which resulted in the gunman Tristan Sherry being beaten to death. Jason and Devon Hennessy were also on bail at the time, arising from charges at the District Court.
Last year, the State accepted pleas of guilty to assault causing harm against four of the defendants, an offence that carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison.
Along with the three Hennessy brothers, Kenneth Fitzsimons, 45, and his son Dean Fitzsimons, 25, of Castlecurragh Vale, Mulhuddart, Dublin had been charged with various offences, including causing serious harm and false imprisonment, both of which carry potential life sentences.
The Director of Public Prosecutions accepted the pleas to the lesser charge after Mr Moore refused to give evidence.
Before it became apparent that Mr Moore was not going to give evidence, Devon Hennessy, of Edgewood Lawns, Corduff, Dublin 15 pleaded guilty to falsely imprisoning Mr Moore and to assisting a criminal organisation to inflict serious harm on Mr Moore.
Mark Lynam SC, for Devon, today told the court that his client was the least culpable of all the accused and should be given a lesser sentence despite pleading guilty to more serious offences.
Ms Justice Karen O'Connor, presiding, adjourned sentencing to 25 March.
