A 31-year-old man has been sentenced to six years in prison for killing another man in an unprovoked one-punch attack near his home in Whitehall in Dublin two and a half years ago. Christopher O'Neill, from Larkhill Road in Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the manslaughter of 33-year-old Martin Lynn on 30 July 2023. Judge Martin Nolan described it as a "pretty awful case" and said it was hard to understand why O’Neill did what he did. A motorcyclist went by but came back, got off the motorbike still wearing his helmet and for no apparent reason and without any provocation, punched Martin Lynn in the face. Afterwards the Lynn family said they were extremely disappointed with the leniency of the sentence.

Source: Punch January 15, 2026 15:39 UTC