Men and woman sentenced over 'appalling and frightening sequence of violence' on street

Two men and a woman were sentenced today for the roles they played in an "appalling and frightening sequence of bloody violence" on a residential street in West Belfast.

All three appeared at Belfast Crown Court and were sentenced by Judge Mark Reel.

The violence erupted in the Norglen Parade area of the city just after 6am on April 1 last year and CCTV footage of the incident was played in court.

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Piarais Hamill, 27, was handed a 12-month sentence, which was divided equally between custody and licence. With an address given as HMP Maghaberry, he admitted three charges of possessing an offensive weapon - namely a gas canister, a water tap attached with a pipe and a metal bar – as well as charges of affray and resisting police.

Shane McKeaveney, 24, from Elgin Street in Belfast, was ordered to serve 50 hours community service and was placed on Probation for 18 months for charges of criminal damage, attempted criminal damage and affray.

Grainne O'Halloran, who is 35 and from Clonavogie Gardens in Belfast, was also made the subject of an 18-month Probation Order after she admitted a charge of affray.

After watching the CCTV, Judge Reel branding the behaviour of all three as "appalling." The violence erupted following an incident inside Hamill's home and the events that then spilled onto the street were captured on a CCTV camera installed at his home.

The court heard that in the early hours of April 1 last year, Hamill invited McKeaveney into his house for a drink. A fight inside the house then broke out which resulted in a both men exiting the house and walked into the street.

At around 6.14am a group of people, some of whom were not charged, became involved and during the 15-minute incident Hamill can be seen walking to and from his house and on to the street with an array of weapons.

At one point he lifted a gas canister which he threw at a group including McKeaveney whilst at another point he is seen swinging a water tap with the pipe attached which he removed from his house and took onto the street.

During the affray, O'Halloran is visible on the CCTV holding a knife and lunging twice at Hamill. She was disarmed of the weapon but picked it up and handed it to McKeaveney.

McKeaveney - who is seen fighting at several points during the incident - is also caught on camera kicking the wing mirror off a car parked outside Hamill's house and throwing the gas canister at the windscreen of the same vehicle.

The violent incident ended after Hamill's mother intervened and when police arrived at around 6.30am, they discovered both Hamill and McKeaveney covered in blood at the scene.

Hamill struggled during his arrest, refused to get into the police car and threatened to bite officers. In the aftermath of the incident, none of the defendants made complaints against each other.

The court also heard that despite being spoken to at the scene by police wearing body-warn cameras, O'Halloran later claimed she wasn't present.

Defence barrister Aaron Thompson said his client Hamill has expressed "a degree of regret" about what happened and made full admissions about his involvement during a police interview.

McKeaveney's barrister Sean Devine said his client felt under threat, pointed out he sustained injuries which required hospital treatment and described what happened last April as an "isolated and spontaneous incident."

Sean O'Hare, the barrister representing O'Halloran, said she has "no recollection" of the incident and spoke of both her physical health and addition issues.

Judge Reel said all three defendants were "actively involved in the affray" which occurred on a residential street.

Branding the incident as an "appalling and frightening sequence of bloody violence", Judge Reel imposed the sentences upon all three.Whilst Hamill was remanded back into custody, McKeaveney and O'Halloran were warned that if they breached their Probation Orders they would be returned back to court.

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