'I wish that I could just return to my normal self,' says Upperchurch assault victim

A Drombane man found guilty of assault causing serious harm in Upperchurch in June 2021 was sentenced to four years in prison at Nenagh Circuit Court today, Friday, June 14.

Patrick Burke (21) of Roskeen, Drombane was given a four-year sentence, two of those years were suspended for a period of two years on the condition that he attended Probation Services and attended anger management and addiction services. A charge of violent disorder was taken into account.

Judge Catherine Staines said the only reason the last two years had been suspended was because the defendant had accepted the verdict of a jury and had finally accepted his guilt.

A  jury had previously heard the case of the Drombane man and delivered a verdict of guilty on both counts at Nenagh Circuit Court.

Patrick Burke (21) of Roskeen, Drombane, was charged with violent disorder, contrary to Section 15 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 and assault causing serious harm to Ross Whelan, Section 4 of the Non-Fatal Acts Against the Person Act 1997, on June 27, 2021, in Upperchurch. 

The trial was five days long, and the jury of five men and seven women deliberated for two hours and three minutes before delivering their unanimous verdict. 

On Friday in Nenagh Circuit Court Patrick Burke, accompanied by his family, appeared for sentencing before Judge Staines.

The victim of the assault, Ross Whelan, now 21 years old, was in a coma for ten days after the assault and had a titanium plate fitted in his skull to replace a fractured temporal bone.

“I wish all the time that I could just return to my normal self before I had this brain injury,” he told the court.

Making a victim impact statement to the court Ross Whelan of Old Road, Cashel told Judge Catherine Staines that “my life has changed immeasurably and completely since I was assaulted and it can never return to the way it was before.”

Ross Whelan said his wish of playing senior hurling for Cashel King Cormac's was taken from him and he has difficulty concentrating during lectures in college.

“I have been changed completely and have to hold the scars both physically and mentally from that night and that assault for the rest of my life,” Ross Whelan told the court before Judge Staines passed sentence.

Prior to sentencing, Judge Staines was told that Patrick Burke had no previous convictions and she read a number of testimonies that were handed to her that included one from a representative of Upperchurch GAA Club which described Mr Burke as a person of “strong moral character” and from a priest who praised the defendant for his work in Lourdes.

Passing sentence Judge Staines said that this was not a one-punch assault, this assault went much further than that, there was one punch and the victim was punched again while unconscious.

The assault, said Judge Staines, had a devastating effect on the life of the victim.

After passing sentence on Mr Burke, Judge Staines addressed the victim and told Mr Whelan that she wished him a good recovery and wished him well in continuing his studies.