A SERVING Irish soldier has been bailed for sentencing after he admitted delivering “one punch” to a man who fell to the ground, striking his head and leaving him with a traumatic brain injury.
Father-of-three, Alan Costello, of Shantraud Woods, Killaloe in Co Clare, told Gardai he was “sorry” and “ashamed” of his behaviour on the night, Limerick Circuit Criminal Court heard.
Costello, 37, who has served almost 20 years in the Defence Forces, pleaded guilty to one count of affray, during which he punched the recently deceased Timmy Cosgrave, 51, during a row in February 2022.
Father-of-one Cosgrave, from Annacotty in Co Limerick, who ran his own haulage firm, died following an unrelated illness in Tenerife almost two years later, on January 10, 2024.
The court heard that the two men got into a “heated” row at the Chicken Hut fast-food restaurant in Limerick city, after Cosgrave appeared to have skipped past Costello in a queue for food in the early hours of February 20, 2022.
Cosgrave, who was intoxicated, beckoned Costello to meet him outside the premises.
After both men went outside, Costello punched Cosgrave and he fell backwards, striking the back of his head off the ground, the court heard.
Cosgrave’s family told the court that Costello “took away Timmy’s independence” when he punched him as well as his “passion” for trucks and his haulage company, established in 2015, “which were his pride and joy”.
Cosgrave’s family said he was “devastated” after doctors told him in 2023 he could no longer drive, nor perform mechanical checks on his fleet of trucks “after he developed epilepsy, and lost strength in his arms”.
Costello’s barrister, Yvonne Quinn, told the court Costello had no previous convictions, that he did not target Cosgrave on the night, nor did he instigate the row with Cosgrave.
Judge Colin Daly said he would pass sentence on October 9.
