Man charged with assaulting teenager who skipped him in chipper queue 

A man charged with the assault of a teenager who skipped him in the queue at a chipper last June, is due to reappear before the court in March.

Miroslaw Jezuit (21), with an address at Kilmore, Athleague appeared before Judge Vincent Deane at Ballaghaderreen District Court, charged with section 3 assault causing harm.

The court heard that, on June 15th, 2025, the 18-year-old injured party was celebrating a friend’s birthday in a local nightclub, where he’d had a number of pints, as well as shots with red bull.

At 2.30 a.m. he entered a local chipper and skipped Mr Jezuit in the queue. He told the court that Mr Jezuit “started being aggressive” and asked him outside to fight.

The injured party said he didn’t want to fight and walked up an alley “with no cameras and no lighting” for “a shortcut home”.

“He followed me and shouted my name. I got a blow to the nose. I fell to the ground and he got on top of me and gave me more blows, then he stamped on my knee and my knee was badly damaged,” the injured party outlined.

“I tried getting up. My nose was bleeding and my glasses were missing. My knee was damaged and I wasn’t able to get up. I struggled to get out of the alleyway and I went home.” Mr Jezuit told the court he was “acting like an eejit” and “high-fiving lads, having a bit of craic” in the chipper, but “I wouldn’t say I acted aggressively”.

He said he put his hand on the injured party’s chest and asked him why he skipped the queue and then “I made a stupid decision” to go outside, but he maintained that it was the injured party who asked him to go outside and that he thought it was a joke.

“He hit me in the head and I pushed him off me. He fell on his bum. I helped him up and he said he’d beat me up and started calling people on his phone,” he said, admitting that he may have bumped the injured party on the nose as he pushed him.

He told Inspector David Cryan, prosecuting, that he himself had “a swollen head” from a blow delivered by the injured party.

Judge Deane noted that the incident occurred after 2.30 a.m. “after all parties involved had consumed alcohol”.

“I’m very satisfied that there was a lot of drink taken. They were in the chipper and the injured party came in and was definitely intoxicated,” he said.

“Miroslaw wasn’t nearly as intoxicated and it’s obvious from the CCTV that he asked the injured party out and they left and went to go for a fight.” He said that he didn’t think things played out the way the injured party described them but “those injuries he sustained… he didn’t do it to himself”.

“There is absolutely no doubt that (the assault) happened. Miroslaw’s version would almost have you believe he (the injured party) did this to himself. That is incredible,” Judge Deane added.

Mr Jezuit is 21-years-old with no previous convictions, the court heard. He’s serving as a private in the army and counsel for the accused asked the court to consider that “there would be no great injustice if he was left without a criminal record”.

He requested a number of weeks to allow for Mr Jezuit to “come back with a proposal to make good the relationship between himself and the injured party”.

Judge Deane adjourned sentencing to March 9th for mention. He directed a victim impact statement for that date.

*Published under the Courts Reporting Scheme.