A judge told all three in the courtroom that ‘this was an entirely disgraceful event… all three of you should be ashamed of yourselves’ as he passed down his sentencing
A father and his two sons left a lorry driver with a severe facial injury requiring nine stitches when a funeral “descended into something akin to a bar room brawl”.
The man has been left with permanent scarring after nine stitches were required to his face after the family went postal at a wake, with the three men hurling pint glasses and gouging at the eyes of mourners following the funeral service.
Given the father had previously become violent at another memorial gathering just three years prior, a judge has scolded the family for the brawl in a public courtroom: “This was an entirely disgraceful event. All three of you should be ashamed of yourselves.”
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Thursday that the Redmonds, all of Holm Lane in Prenton, Wirral, were in attendance of a wake held at the Prenton Golf Club on the afternoon of 17 October 2024 following a funeral.
Their connection to the deceased remains unclear, but the father and sons are understood to have been unfamiliar to witnesses of the incident in question. It is understood that witnesses, however, “thought that the defendants were inappropriately dressed” for the event in question.
Prosecutor Henry Riding told the court that the wake had been scheduled to finish at 7pm, with golf course manager Kate Verdin-Walsh announcing last orders shortly before 6.45pm. She described the atmosphere as “good” with the service “passing without any untoward incident” until last drinks were called and staff members then “alerted her to shouting in the bar area”.
At the scene, Ms Verdin-Walsh discovered “12 to 15 persons in a circle, appearing to act as a buffer between two males who were arguing and shouting”. According to the Liverpool Echo, Liam Redmond snr was reportedly amongst those involved, and was observed shouting at another man as the latter “tried to back away”.
Having “managed to calm him down”, the now 61-year-old and his sons — who had previously been described as “squaring up and showboating” — were then escorted from the premises by staff. However, the father then dragged another man to the ground near to the exit. It was then “large scale fight broke out”, the court heard.
The brawl was apparently triggered by a man grabbing at Redmond snr’s daughter as she attempted to follow him and her brothers out of the venue. The man who had been floored “put his arm around her back to keep her in the room”, and was apparently unaware of her connection to those who had been removed.
What followed was a “lot of pushing and fighting”, leading to one of the sons allegedly hurling a pint glass into the crowd. The glass struck Ms Verdin-Walsh on the head, causing a small lump and resulting in her needing hospital treatment.
Witness Ronald Hancox subsequently stated that he had observed Redmond snr “pressing his thumb inside the eye of another male”, prompting him to intervene by striking the defendant. Another attendee, Carl Hancox, also witnessed the father “striking a male called Billy” before forcing his thumbs into the victim’s eyes.
When he also rushed to assist this victim, he remembered that “all three defendants turned their attentions on him”, resulting in him being punched and kicked to the head while on the ground. Roberts snr was then said to have similarly “shoved his thumbs into his eye, like he had done to Billy”.
William Donaldson, the uncle of the man who was first dragged to the ground during the incident, told police he had “run into the centre of the fight to try protect his nephew”. Prosecutor Mr Riding said: “He saw a glass being thrown by one of the males but ended up on the floor, being struck multiple times by the younger of the two males, who attempted to gouge out his eyes with his fingers.”
Mr Donaldson suffered a “split” nose in the attack, which he believed was caused by a glass bottle. He attended hospital the following day, where the wound was closed with a total of nine stitches.
The HGV driver was also forced to take a fortnight off work after being left with fragments of glass in his eye. In a victim impact statement read to the court, he said of the scar on his face: “I don’t really go out much any more so that I don’t have to explain it to people. I no longer pop down to the pub. I get nervous about strange places and people. I was always easy going and could chat to anyone. I always enjoyed a laugh and socialising, but not any more.”
Liam Redmond snr has 16 previous convictions for 24 offences dating back to 1978, including a nine-month sentence for attempted wounding in 1990. In May 2022, he was handed a 12-month community order for affray relating to a “fight caused by the defendant at a wake in a hotel in 2021”.
Defence barrister Lloyd Morgan told the court his client suffered from emphysema, adding: “Mr Roberts snr receives Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment. He receives about £900 per month. He has various outgoings. The report does recommend a rehabilitation activity requirement and an alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement.”
Neither Liam Redmond jnr, 25, nor Luke Redmond, 23, had any previous convictions. Representing Liam Redmond jnr, Nick Cockrell told the court: “This was, in this defendant’s life, an isolated incident, almost two years ago now, admittedly one committed when he was in drink. He does still drink from time to time, as any young person does. He is a self employed plasterer.”
Luke Redmond’s barrister Cheryl Mottram said her client had not reoffended since the incident and was “very remorseful”. All three defendants admitted affray on the day they had been due to stand trial.
Liam Redmond snr, who appeared in the dock wearing a navy blue cardigan over a light blue shirt and tie, was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for 18 months. He was also ordered to complete up to 10 days of rehabilitation activity and a 90-day alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement. Liam Redmond jnr, wearing a light blue shirt and tie, and Luke Redmond, dressed in a grey suit and glasses, were each given 12-month community orders with 15 days of rehabilitation activity and 80 hours of unpaid work.
All three men were also ordered to pay Mr Donaldson £250 each in compensation. Sentencing them, Judge Garrett Byrne said: “On that date, you were all in attendance at a wake at Prenton Golf Club. You, along with everybody, it seems to me, were under the influence of alcohol. There appears to have been some words said, and a fight broke out.
“This was, on any view, an entirely disgraceful event. All three of you should be ashamed of yourselves. What was supposed to be a solemn and respectful event descended into something akin to a bar room brawl.
“It started when you, Mr Redmond snr, dragged the nephew down. Mr Donaldson ran over to help his nephew, and the fight started. Glasses were thrown, various injuries were suffered by a number of different people, including the manager, including Carl Hancox, but, perhaps most seriously of all, William Donaldson, who suffered a very serious injury to his nose.
“He had nine stitches to close that unpleasant wound. He was left with a permanent scar. He was left with glass fragments in his eyes. Although it is not entirely clear which of you caused the injuries to Mr Donaldson, it is clear that you were all active participants in the fight.”
Judge Byrne told Redmond snr his previous conviction “bore a striking similarity” to the latest offence, adding: “It was another wake. You were also intoxicated.
“I accept that you have not reoffended. None of you have reoffended since this offence. You have shown genuine remorse. I accept that you have medical conditions. You showed good compliance on your community order, albeit it did not stop you committing this offence.”