The Kinawley GAA club in Fermanagh has criticised the sentence handed down to James Bernard McGovern for assaulting two Directors of the former Quinn Industrial Holdings.
The 24 year old from Springtown Road, Kinawley, has begun a three year and three month sentence after appearing in Cavan Circuit Court on Friday.
Mr McGovern had pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to Mannok Director Kevin Lunney who received a broken nose and injuries to his face after being punched a number of times.
He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of assault on another Director Dara O'Reilly who had a cup of hot water thrown in his face.
The incident took place in a café in Ballyconnell in February 2019.
While he stressed Mr McGovern is not linked with a seperate, subsequent attack on Kevin Lunney, Judge John Aylmer described this incident as "callously premeditated" and placed it at the upper end of the scale of such offences.
In a post on Facebook, the committee of Kinawley GAA said it would like "to express their concern over the sentence passed on their club member".
The group also says it does "not in any way condone the assault that resulted in his trial" and "his actions were inexcusable" but that the sentence imposed is "completely disproportionate" for a first time offender.
Separately, in a video recorded ahead of his sentencing, James Bernard McGovern said he expected to receive a sentence of "a couple of months" and could "hold his head high".
