A 21-year-old Dublin man with mental health difficulties has been spared a sentence for attempting to stab a youth in the neck with a hunting knife in a terrifying unprovoked attack.
John Connolly, from Maple Avenue, Ballybrack, Dublin, was sentenced to 12 months’ supervised probation. He pleaded guilty to assault causing harm, and producing a knife in a manner likely to intimidate or capable of inflicting serious injury.
The incident happened close to his home on April 17, 2017, Dublin Children’s Court heard.
He was 17 at the time but had reached adulthood and lost the right to anonymity by the time the case went to court.