A teenager has been given five years in custody at Naas Circuit Court for the manslaughter of a man in Kildare town less than a year ago.Ryan Murphy (19), of Curragh Plains, Kildare town, admitted the unlawful killing of Ryan Weir Gibbons (29), who died on October 30th last following an assault in the Magee Terrace area, near the local garda station, four days earlier.Weir Gibbons, of Collaghknock Glebe, Kildare town, sustained a traumatic head injury when he fell to the ground after he had been punched. He died at Naas Hospital.The defendant, who was 18 at the time, had not previously come to the attention of the gardaí. He was a student in Carlow and a rugby player, who had represented Leinster at youth level.Reviewing the evidence on the incident Judge Elva Duffy said CCTV images showed the deceased on a bus on his own from Naas, and the defendant’s group got on to the vehicle in Newbridge.There was noise on the bus and Weir Gibbons turned around to give out about this. The defendant said “I’ll smash your head in”.Murphy was shouting and approached Weir Gibbons. A scuffle followed and passengers on the bus, including people with the defendant, tried to break it up, as did the bus driver.Two or three young men on the bus told the defendant to cop on, and the deceased sat at the top of the bus for the rest of the journey. Weir Gibbons made a comment and Murphy became agitated and shouted at him.After the bus stopped, the defendant was making his way back “to try to find” Weir Gibbons, and a friend was trying to tell him to calm down.The parties met at a roadway and the defendant asked “do you know who I am?”. He was deeply agitated.Ryan Murphy (19) pictured at Naas Circuit Court on Friday where he was sentenced for the manslaughter of Ryan Weir Gibbons. Photograph: Colin Keegan/Collins Weir Gibbons had his hands up and was trying to calm the situation. The judge noted the deceased swung a punch because things were not calming down.The defendant then struck him and his head hit the ground. Two individuals who were present at the incident went to the Garda station. Gardaí arrived at the scene and two ambulances attended.The judge, at Friday’s sentencing hearing, said she accepted the defendant will live with regret for the rest of his life and “he is distressed about the chain of events he was involved in”. She added that people who know him struggle to reconcile the person with his actions on the night.His actions were devastating, however, and “he made it clear he was up for a fight”.The judge said the five year term took account of the defendant’s remorse, his lack of previous convictions and his plea.The courthouse was thronged with family members, friends and supporters of the families of the defendant and the deceased and a woman sobbed loudly in the body of the court after the case ended and the judge had left.Ryan Weir Gibbons. Photograph: Colin Keegan/Collins Weir Gibbons’s family said afterwards he was much more than the circumstances of his death. “He had the most infectious smile, he was bubbly, full of life and had a way of lighting up every room he walked into. Ryan was a messer, he loved making people laugh and could always find humour in any situation,” the said.His family said the pain of losing him is something words cannot describe.“Every birthday, Christmas, family gathering milestone will forever be overshadowed by his absence. Our family has endured unimaginable grief while also carrying the emotional burden of the criminal justice process.”