Four men plead guilty to assault after massive row in local hotel
A still from a video of the row that broke out in the foyer of the Woodford Dolmen Hotel last February
FOUR men from Tullow last week pleaded guilty to charges of assault causing harm in Carlow District Court after “a large melee” broke out in the Woodford Dolmen Hotel.
Judge Geraldine Carthy heard that members of the Rooney family from Tullow were attending a country music night in the hotel to celebrate their mother’s tenth wedding anniversary when three brothers got involved in a brawl, along with their friend Ciaran Doyle. The case was listed for hearing on Wednesday afternoon and, after some discussion, all four men pleaded guilty to the assault charges.
Shane Rooney aged 26, Lee Rooney (25) and 21-year-old Dale Rooney all pleaded guilty to a single charge each of assaulting two security men, causing them harm on 3 February 2024 at the Woodford Dolmen Hotel, Kilkenny Road, Carlow. All of the Rooney brothers have an address at 20 Park Avenue, Phelim Wood, Tullow.
Their friend Ciaran Doyle (22) of 5 Templeowen, Tullow pleaded guilty to two counts of assault causing harm, one of which involved a security man and the other being a woman who was filming the brawl on her camera.
Inspector Conor Nolan told Judge Geraldine Carthy that gardaí were called out to the hotel that night because “a large melee” had broken out in the reception area. He continued that Mr Doyle was identified on CCTV striking a security guard and assaulting a woman who was filming the goings-on. The court heard that all three Rooney brothers were also identified on the CCTV footage assaulting the security guards.
Inspector Nolan continued that Dale Rooney had 44 previous convictions, including for assault, Shane Rooney had two previous convictions, while Lee Rooney had 14 previous convictions. The court heard that Mr Doyle had 47 previous convictions, including two for assault causing harm, one of which resulted in a custodial sentence.
The three Rooneys were represented by three barristers while Mr Doyle was represented by solicitor Chris Hogan.
Judge Carthy was told that Dale Rooney had severe ADHD, was on the autism spectrum and was in special education throughout his childhood and teenage years. She heard that the Rooneys were in the Woodford Dolmen Hotel to celebrate their mother’s tenth wedding anniversary and that they got involved in the mass row out of “misguided loyalty” to each other. The court heard that Shane Rooney only got involved when he was trying to separate other people in the row but that he got drawn into it and punched one of the security guards.
Mr Doyle’s solicitor pointed out that there were “12 or more people involved in the melee” and that the only people before the court were the Rooneys and his client. He continued that the CCTV footage showed his client initially trying to break up the row, but he also got involved. He added that Mr Doyle admitted hitting two people and that he regretted what he’d done.
He continued that when Mr Doyle saw the footage of the row he said “that was out of order” and that it was “one of the most stupid things” he’d ever done. The solicitor also said that Mr Doyle is now in employment and that he had €200 in court to pay towards compensation.
Judge Carthy said that she wanted victim impact statements before sentencing the four defendants and advised them to have sums of money in court to “show their ” when they next appear before her on 12 March.
