THREE EX-SOLDIERS ON TRIAL FOR ASSAULT OVER SPILT DRINK

THREE former members of the Defence Forces attacked and assaulted another young man in a late-night “brutal” attack over a spilt drink in a bar, a court has heard.

- BY ISABEL HAYES

Jordan Kavanagh, 24, and his younger brother Jerome Kavanagh, 23, along with their friend Jason Keating, 24, have “thrown away all their potential”, Judge Sinead Ni Chulachain told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court yesterday.

The three men overcame barriers from their childhoods to become role models in their community of Ballymun and were enjoying successful careers as soldiers before they engaged in the attack on a young man they had never met, the court heard.

All three resigned from the Defence Forces ahead of entering guilty pleas. They each pleaded guilty to one count of assault causing harm and one count of violent disorder outside The Living Room bar in Cathal Brugha Street on February 25, 2024. None of the men has any previous convictions.