A MAN WHO allegedly stabbed another man a number of times in broad daylight in an “unprovoked attack” in Co Kerry earlier this week has been refused bail.
The accused – Declan Galvin, 36, with an address at Killeen Woods, Tralee – was refused bail at Limerick District Court today.
Galvin appeared in court charged with assault causing harm to a man in his 50s at Moyderwell in Tralee on Monday 28 August. He was also charged with producing a steak knife during the course of the alleged assault.
Detective Garda John Gilmartin from Tralee Garda Station said Galvin gave the following reply after being cautioned about the two charges: “I regret what I did, man. It was a moment of madness. Guilty. I did it. I was drunk and I wasn’t in a good place in my head.”
Objecting to bail, Gilmartin said the accused and the victim were not known to one another and that the stabbing was “unprovoked”.
“It will be alleged that during the course of an unprovoked attack that (the accused) took a steak knife from his backpack and stabbed the injured party a number of times,” Gilmartin told the court.
He said the victim sustained a stab wound to one of his lungs and he is still being treated for his injuries in hospital.
Charge may be upgraded
Gilmartin said the Section 3 assault causing harm charge “may be upgraded” to a charge of assault causing serious harm, contrary to Section 4 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.
The stabbing occurred on a “busy road” in front of several eyewitnesses, between the front entrance of Kerry County Library and a local school, he said.
During a bail application, Gilmartin said a bloodstained jumper and a knife had been recovered by gardaí as part of the ongoing investigation.
He said he had “serious concerns” that, if granted bail, Galvin would “carry out further unprovoked attacks”. He described the stabbing as “a violent attack”.
Defence solicitor Padraig O’Connell said the accused had worked “in the hospitality sector” for a number of years. “He is paying rent and has a room in a house,” he added.
O’Connell requested that his client be psychologically evaluated. Judge Marie Keane directed Galvin be referred for a psychological assessment, and that a report be made available at the accused’s next court appearance.
She refused bail and remanded Galvin in custody to appear before Tralee District Court on 6 September.
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