TWO Co Down men were sentenced yesterday for a fatal attack outside a pub in Portaferry which claimed the life of musician Ryan Macrea.
The deceased, who was 32 and from Killyleagh, died nine days after he was punched and kicked outside the Fiddler's Green bar in Portaferry in October 2018.
The two men who carried out the fatal attack - Jordan Donnelly (21) from Ardminnan Road in Portaferry and 30-year old father-of-two Robert Kiernan from Princetown Road in Bangor - were sentenced at Belfast Crown Court by Mr Justice O'Hara.
Donnelly, who has a clear criminal record, was handed an eight year sentence while co-accused Kiernan - described by the Judge as being a "persistently aggravating character" on the evening of the fatal incident - was handed a nine-year sentence.
Both men appeared via a videolink with Maghaberry, and were each informed that their sentences will be divided equally between custody and licence.
As he sentenced the pair, Mr Justice O'Hara spoke of the impact Mr Macrae's death has had on his parents Gordon and June, and his sister Rebecca.
Mr Macrea was attacked in the early hours of Sunday October 14, 2018 and was rushed to the Ulster Hospital. He sustained a fractured skull and multiple brain injuries and was transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital, where he passed away on Tuesday October 23.
Mr Justice O'Hara said that after viewing CCTV footage from both inside and outside the bar, it was clear all three men were drunk.
In a fatal altercation outside the bar which lasted less than ten seconds, Mr Macrae threw a punch at Kiernan which missed, and Donnelly reacted by punching Mr Macrae in the face which caused him to fall back and hit his head firstly off a wall then on the ground.
As Mr Macrae lay motionless on the ground, Kiernan stamped on Mr Macrae's head twice - then Donnelly lifted Mr Macrae's upper body off the ground by the jacket before throwing him back on the ground with force.
In the immediate aftermath, both men tried to rouse Mr Macrea - but they failed to call an ambulance
Donnelly and Kiernan were initially arrested on Sunday October 14 on suspicion of assaulting Mr Macrae, and when he died they were re-interviewed.
Both men said that on the evening in question they had too much to drink. The pair also denied a charge of murder, but later pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Mr Justice O'Hara spoke of the "awful effect this has has" on the Macrea family "both individually and collectively."
