A robber who attacked a defenceless shopkeeper with a claw hammer leaving him with “life-changing” injuries has been jailed for 11 years.
John McKeon, 31, entered Tansey’s newsagents in Finglas, Dublin, armed with a hammer and screwdriver, accompanied by his cousin Daryl McKeon, 23.
John hit Kevin Tansey three times on the back of the head with the hammer as he tried to escape.
In CCTV footage of the incident in March 2017, Daryl could be seen stepping over his unconscious body in order to try and open the cash register.
The culprits fled empty-handed but Mr Tansey suffered a severe brain injury which doctors said was potentially fatal.
His wife Michelle, who is legally blind and relied on her husband, told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court: “The man who left for work that morning has yet to return and I am not sure he ever will.”
John McKeon, of Gleann Riada, Strokestown Road, Longford, was convicted in October of robbery at Eurospar, Swords, and attempted robbery and assault causing serious harm at Tansey’s Newsagent, Fitzmaurice Road, Finglas.
He was sentenced to 12-and-a-half years with the final 18 months suspended on strict conditions.
Daryl McKeon, of North Cumberland Street in Dublin, was jailed for seven years in 2018.
