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THE MOTHER OF a young man who died after an assault during a night out has pleaded with young men to think about the consequences of violent actions.
Andrew Dolan was at a fast-food restaurant in Mullingar with his friends when he was viciously attacked by three people. The six blows to the head the 23-year-old received resulted in serious brain damage, and he died ten days later on New Year’s Day, 2011.
A man and woman in their 20s were acquitted of Dolan’s manslaughter, getting community service in lieu of a prison sentence, and another male is now serving a three-year sentence for Andrew Dolan’s manslaughter.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Crimecall tonight while holding a picture of her son, mother Rosie Dolan told host Keelin Shanley of the “horrific” moment they were given the news, but that they still thought “he’ll be okay”.
“The phone call coming through at three o’clock in the morning saying that something happened to my son and to get there as quick as we could up to Mullingar. Horrific, absolutely horrific.
But we still thought maybe he’ll be okay, maybe it’s only a cut nose or something like that and when we arrived up he was sitting up in the bed in Mullingar Hospital.
“The dangerous thing with a head injury is you can come back around again and then the swelling starts and he just deteriorated. We were rushed up to Beaumont Hospital and ten days later he died.”
She also said that her son was not the only young victim of violence at Christmas time that year:
In Beaumont, there were three Andrews there. That was Christmas 2011, there were three people who’d been assaulted in that unit at that time. Three people dying over Christmas, it was just horrific for us.
‘A punch can kill’
In the interview, Rosie described her son as ”gentle, witty, academically very good, and he loved sports”.
She said that Andrew had hoped to go on and study medicine, and that he and his best friend had plans to set up a practice in Scotland, where they’d been on holiday.
“So his hope for the future has been robbed from him.”
Andrew shouldn’t be dead, I shouldn’t be putting flowers on Andrew’s grave. And I would plead with people today to realise that a punch can and does kill.
Rosie pleaded to young men to think about their actions and the effect they may have, and asked people to look after one another when they’re on nights out:
“I think friends have a responsibility when they’re out to call halt, to maybe get a taxi for someone home and get them home if they think they can’t control themselves.”
Earlier this month, An Garda Síochána launched the campaign ’Use Your Brain Not Your Fists’, which aims to give young men information about the consequences of assaulting another person – losing your job, ability to travel and jail time.
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Hope the thugs that committed this crime are locked up for life…but oh wait this is Ireland.
They didn’t unfortunately. Remember the incident well. Was out in Mullingar that night and just happened to be at the other taxi rank. Horific thing to happen to a young lad out for a few drinks with his friends
@John Reese: Check this out http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/andrew-dolan-assault-pair-given-community-service-1.1792175
Absolutely disgraceful but again I am not surprised. As long as the general public accept this type of legal system we have, murders will go unpunished. If this happened in s small town in Arizona…they would be looking at 40 years without parole.
3.5 years! Community service for the two others. Disgusting.
Read recently about a 20 year old in Missouri who in a random one punch attack killed a 72 year old man. The lad got 55 YEARS in prison. A proper sentence in my view. I don’t think a mass murderer would get 55 years in this country
How can you do that to a person and walk away with community service? ? .. they should have been made an example of. . Sickening it is ..
Thanks for that link Geraldine, those sentences are shocking but also not shocking, which is sad.
Not familiar with this case but the justice system is all fu€ked up. They set stupid precedences when they make disgraceful judgements, like for instance, looking after the ‘high-jinx’ of ‘otherwise decent young men’ from privileged backgrounds in that Club Annabelle case.
@John Reese:
I found the article about the Missouri case – an horrific incident. The thug got life with a minimum of 30 years for the second-degree murder of Mr Nguyen and 25 years for first-degree assault on Mrs Nguyen – the sentences to run consecutively.
I don’t know if consecutive sentences are even issued here anymore, all concurrent that I can recall. Or buy one get one free.
A mother’s worst nightmare. Such a beautiful bright young man.
Far too much brutality in Ireland.
We’re still a nation of drunken brawlers fuelled by copious amounts of strong liquor and ridiculous notions that we are ‘A warrior race’ and other such GAA nonsense.
Of course the Alcohol Industry always seems to escape censure despite the reality that most common assaults on public streets are carried out by thugs full to the gills of their heavily advertised products.
@Sam Palmer: Think you are making a lot of sweeping statements there, Sam, ‘such GAA Nonsense.’?? The GAA and other sports organisation have done a lot to keep people off the streets.
Saying that Saturday in Main St, Ireland is a bit of a circus at times!
@Frank Oliver:
I take your point Frank but the GAA encourages tribalism and aggression.
Throw alcohol into the mix and it’s a lethal combination.
@Sam Palmer: I hear you but the GAA and sports organisations might encourage aggression but it’s only on the field of play. Many of them have drinking bans during the playing season and never promote aggressive behahviour on the main st or promote a drinking culture.
You literally haven’t a notion
Such a needless waste of life.
@Sam Palmer: How can the GAA be blamed for this type of incident? It was caused by a gang of drunken thugs who picked an easy target to appear like real tough guys as is usually the case. I’ve yet to hear of someone being murdered in an attack on a GAA pitch
Because it’s nobody’s fault these days…nobody can take responsibility for their own actions
I’ve had a bunch of lads come up to me and my brother and ask were we from a particular townland, it was a gaa feud of sorts. Luckily we said we were from elsewhere or the four of them would have given the two of us a beating.. what hope with odds like that.
What about the McGovern case in Monaghan. No one convicted for the one punch attack.
Such a shame . He looks like a lovely happy bright lad.
It’s very upsetting how this can happen for nothing, wrong place wrong time and it’s over
They will get a “SANTA CLAUSE JUDGE” and get a slap on the wrist.
@Tony Hartigan: Saying sit on my knee little ‘oy?
If it was the judge’s son
To finish the sentence, would it have been a different outcome in court.
Sexist… Young people in general need to stop drinking to the point they loose control and are a danger to themselves and others.
Ive seen more than a few young drunk women battering the s*** out of each other on street corners.
It was actually a mixed-gender group that attacked the poor lad (for no reason at all)
They blame it on the drink or drugs but that is bull, those who do this are just angry and bitter, drink does not change them but lets them be who they are.
There are those who fight, there are those who spread rumours hoping others will do the fighting for them and then there are others who spike peoples drinks, they are nasty to the core and nothing will change them from who they are, they hide it, make fun and light out of it and they pass the buck by blaming their victim but they are who they are and drink justs lets them be who they are as it doesn’t change them at all but yet they try and always try to blame something?
@Alois Irlmaier: I absolutely 100% agree with you. if they weren’t drunk and/or under the influence of drugs would the sentence have been much different? Probably not -_-
Absolutely awful thing to go through.
A friend of my son. He actually crossed the street to avoid the thugs who were being boisterous outside the take-away. This attracted their attention to him. Three years and probation for murder. Disgraceful.
In some countries it is against the law to serve a person who is intoxicated or even to serve them more than 4.. so perhaps the sellers should keep a watchful eye on this type of over consuming… I am not blaming the bar tenders.
3 years for manslaughter, and community service for the other two. Jesus Christ even for Ireland that’s bad!
As his father said two years ago, there is far too much acceptance of violence on our streets and the justice system is cruel. Since Patrick Farrell got 3 and a half years back in April 2013 he’s probably out or going to be soon. It’s one thing to lose someone you love at the hands of a criminal but another to know that he’s free (including his “friends”). Something needs to be done about this, sooner rather the later. Prevention is better than cure (if there was a cure for this chaos) :/
The article doesn’t say how old he was.
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