Shillelagh attacker has prison term more than doubled

A Longford man's prison sentence for a pub assault has been substantially increased by the Court of Appeal. Edward Stokes, aged 33, of Ferriskill, Granard, was originally sentenced to two-and-a-half years' imprisonment following his conviction for violent disorder at Longford Circuit Criminal Court in January 2023. The attack occurred at Kane's Bar on Main Street, Granard, in October 2018, when Stokes and another man struck a victim approximately 20 times each with shillelaghs during a lunchtime incident. The State successfully challenged the original sentence as unduly lenient. Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy increased the headline sentence from four years to eight years, resulting in a revised total sentence of seven years' imprisonment with the final six months suspended. The judge noted the premeditated nature of the assault and the movement of furniture by Stokes to gain access to the victim's head. Stokes must now serve six-and-a-half years in custody.