A 27-year-old County Monaghan man has been sentenced to eight years in jail for killing another man with a single punch in October 2018.

Francis Hughes, with an address in Oram, Castleblayney, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Graham Tobin.

The judge said it was an exceptionally serious unprovoked attack.

He noted the failure of Hughes to seek medical attention after the incident and how he prevented others from seeking medical help.

Father-of-four Mr Tobin suffered injuries to the head and brain, including a fractured skull.

The attack happened after a number of people gathered at a house in Oram to watch a mixed martial arts fight involving Conor McGregor.

Mr Tobin fell back and struck his head on a step at the back of the house after being punched by Hughes.

‘Expression of satisfaction’

The court was told a female witness who saw the attack believed it happened at about 06:00 local time, but the emergency services were not alerted until 09:55.

Mr Tobin never regained consciousness and died in hospital in Dublin 11 days later.

The judge said the severity of the punch to Mr Tobin’s nose caused a number of fractures.

He also noted several witnesses said Hughes’ had an expression of satisfaction when he knocked Mr Tobin out.

However, he said he had taken into account the fact Hughes made an early guilty plea and while he did not cooperate with the garda (Irish police) investigation, he had handed himself in for interview.

Mr Tobin’s family reacted emotionally when the sentence was handed down and his wife left the court in tears.

The court also heard Hughes had 74 previous convictions, mostly for road traffic and public order offences, with one being for an assault.

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