Man jailed for 'vicious and disturbing' assault of 13-year-old boy

By Eimear Dodd and Declan Brennan

A man has been jailed for a “vicious and disturbing” random assault on a young teenager outside Connolly Station in Dublin.

Stephen Barrett (23) with an address in Gardner Street Lower, Dublin 1, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to the 13-year-old boy on April 30th, 2025, at Connolly Station.

Barrett had picked up a steel pole to chase some youths who had allegedly shouted something derogatory towards his girlfriend.

He caught up with and attacked the victim, who was not involved in the shouting and was entirely innocent, the court heard.

The attack resulted in a deep scalp laceration which left the boy’s skull visible. The victim lost consciousness and received 10 staples to his head but had no underlying skull fracture.

In a victim impact statement, his mother said her son continues to experience fear, anxiety and extreme distress as a result of the assault. She said he no longer feels safe and left school as a result.

After assaulting the boy, Barrett returned to his girlfriend and continued his journey.

Barrett has 44 previous convictions, all at the District Court. The majority of these offences are for theft but he also has two for assault.

Imposing sentence, Judge Martina Baxter said the CCTV was “very distressing and alarming”, and that the assault was unprovoked, random and “vicious and disturbing”.

She said the victim’s young age, the impact on him and the fact that the assault took place outside Connolly Station in the afternoon were all aggravating features.

The judge said the court accepted Barrett’s expressions of remorse were genuine and had considered his background and other mitigating factors.

Judge Baxter said Barrett’s excuses “had been repeated”, noting that Barrett had said that insults had been directed at his partner.

She noted the victim was entirely innocent, that the insults were not attributed to him and that the boy had “no involvement or interaction with this man”. She said the explanation offered by Barrett “doesn’t excuse in any fashion” his unacceptable actions.

Judge Baxter imposed a five-year sentence, with the final 18 months suspended for two years to incentivise his continued rehabilitation.

She directed Barrett to undergo 18 months of post-release probation supervision, to participate in a victim impact module to understand the impact of violent offending on others, drug counselling and mental health therapies.

The victim’s mother was in court for sentencing, and the judge expressed the court’s best wishes to her and her son.

The garda previously agreed with defence counsel that Barrett was travelling home with his pregnant girlfriend and a bike shortly before this incident occurred.

It was further accepted that the CCTV showed several youths engaging with Barrett and his girlfriend.

Counsel said his instructions were that a derogatory comment was made to Barrett's girlfriend, and after this, his behaviour became aggressive. The garda noted the CCTV had no audio.

The witness accepted that Barrett would not have known the youths' ages, but would have known they were young.

Counsel suggested that Barrett was chasing a youth in a jacket similar to the boy and that this could be a case of mistaken identity. The garda agreed that the boy was not among the group of youths seen engaging with Barrett before the assault.

It was also accepted that Barrett's previous convictions were indicative of someone with a longstanding drug addiction, that he was sober and cooperative when arrested and entered an early guilty plea.

A letter of apology and other documents were provided to the court.

Counsel said this was an “appalling offence” and that his client acted in a “bizarre, abhorrent fashion” on the day. He asked the court to consider the context in which the offence occurred, acknowledging that his client should have walked away and not reacted as he did.

Barrett has a dysfunctional background and began to use drugs as a teenager. He spent time in the UK, where he found a cousin, who was like a brother to him, who died from an overdose, counsel said.

He submitted that his client has not recently offended and is engaging with addiction services. Recent urinalysis is negative for hard drugs, but positive for cannabis, which Barrett is addressing.

He asked the court to structure a sentence to assist his client in his efforts to become a pro-social member of society.

Addressing the court, Barrett said he was “very, very sorry for what I did”.

“I wish I could take it back. I understand I'm going to jail. I think about it every day. I'm sorry, I wouldn't want it to happen to my son.

“I got triggered...my anger got the better of me...I've tried my best to do what I can.”