A man who carried out a “savage” and unprovoked one-punch assault on a homeless man in Dublin city centre almost three years ago has been jailed for six years.Shane Murray (then 19) assaulted Damien Merrigan (then 49), who sustained serious injuries including head and facial fractures at Aston Quay in September 2023.Merrigan fell to the ground unconscious following the assault and was in Beaumont Hospital for seven days for treatment. A medical report read to the court stated that “major force” was required to fracture skull and facial bones.Murray of Woodhazel Terrace, Ballymun, Dublin 11, pleaded guilty to assault causing serious harm on September 7th, 2023, at Aston Quay, Dublin 2.Murray was on bail at the time of this incident. He has 81 previous convictions including for drugs offences, violent disorder, assault causing harm, theft, road traffic matters and possession of a mobile phone while in custody.Merrigan, who was homeless, died in July 2025 of unrelated causes. Prosecuting barrister Tessa White previously told Judge Jonathan Dunphy that the prosecution was not making the case that Merrigan’s death was connected to the assault in 2023.Imposing sentence on Friday, the judge noted that the victim was still homeless at the time of his death and a “very vulnerable man at that time, struggling through life”.He said the court had viewed the CCTV footage, which showed Murray putting something on his hand before striking Merrigan.The judge said the court inferred from Murray’s “slight build” and the serious injuries sustained by the victim that “an implement of some sort was used” by the defendant. He noted that while this was a one-punch assault, an implement was used to strike the blow, and this was aggravating.He noted the unprovoked nature of the assault and that Merrigan was vulnerable and had “no opportunity to defend himself against a cowardly, savage attack”.The judge said it was also aggravating that Murray left the scene, did not attempt to assist his victim after the assault and later left the jurisdiction, “highlighting a disregard for the victim and criminal justice system”.Dunphy noted in mitigation that Murray returned voluntarily and handed himself in to gardaí. The judge also noted Murray’s difficult background, addiction issues and guilty pleas. He said the court accepted Murray’s expression of remorse as genuine.Imposing a sentence of eight years, the judge said Murray was “still a young man who has an appalling list of previous convictions and who must change his ways upon release”.The judge noted that Murray still had the “majority of his life ahead of him” and that without making “remarkable changes”, he may spend more time in custody.The judge suspended the final two years of the sentence on strict conditions for three years including probation supervision and that Murray complete an alternatives-to-violence programme while in custody.