Man previously convicted of manslaughter fails to attend court

A 34-YEAR-OLD man, previously convicted of manslaughter, was convicted in his absence when he failed to appear at Monaghan District Court recently on public order charges.

Francis Hughes (34) with an address at Bree, Castleblayney, had been charged with public intoxication and threatening a breach of the peace at Pizza Max, Main Street, Onomy, Castleblayney, on October 19, 2025.

Garda James Kirwan said that at about 11:58pm on that night he observed the defendant, who was known to him. Mr Hughes was unable to stand and was stumbling on the street. When approached, he became aggressive, saying, “f**k off pig b**tards.”

Sergeant Lisa McEntee said the accused had 75 previous convictions, including one for manslaughter that saw him receive an eight-year prison sentence in June 2019.

Other convictions for theft, road traffic and public order breaches were also mentioned by the sergeant. The latter included seven for intoxication and 11 for abusive behaviour.

It was accepted by defence barrister Sara Brennan that her client was not present and that she therefore had no instructions.

Convicting Hughes in his absence, Judge Raymond Finnegan issued a warrant for his arrest for sentencing.

Single-punch attack

The manslaughter conviction referred to had arisen from a “one-punch” attack by Hughes on a man who had been at his house to watch a Conor McGregor fight on October 7, 2018.

The victim, Graham Tobin, was one of a number of people who were at the house at Sruth an Iuir, Oram, Castleblayney, on the night in question.

Mr Tobin, a 41-year-old chef and father-of-four, had fallen and struck his head on a step at the back of the house after being punched by Hughes at about 6am.

In handing down an eight-year sentence at Monaghan Circuit Criminal Court in June 2019, Judge John Alymer noted how Hughes prevented others from seeking medical attention for the victim immediately after the incident.

That court had been told Hughes had shouted that he was not going back to jail, and that he had at one point suggested dumping the victim in the boot of his own car.

It was a number of hours before emergency services and gardaí were alerted, and it was not until around 10am that they had arrived at the house.

The family of Mr Tobin had subsequently criticised what they perceived as the leniency of the sentence given at Monaghan Circuit Court.

* This article is published with support from the Court Reporting Scheme