Killer rapist Ian Horgan admits vicious hammer attack on man and his mother

Ian Horgan, a native of Ballincollig and formerly of The Hermitage, Macroom, pleaded guilty to two assault charges relating to Hassan Baker and his mother, Mary O’Callaghan, when he was arraigned at Cork Circuit Criminal Court on Monday.

Horgan pleaded guilty to the charge of assault causing serious harm to 29 year old Hassan Baker on March 26, 2022, at McCurtain Villas, Cork, contrary to Section 4 of the Non Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997.

He also pleaded guilty to a second charge of assault causing harm to Mr Baker’s mother, Mary O’Callaghan, who is in her 60s, by causing injury to her face and wrist, contrary to Section 3 of the Non Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997.

Prosecution barrister Donal O’Sullivan BL said that, in the light of Horgan’s guilty pleas to the two assault charges, the state would require some time for the preparation of Victim Impact Statements from Mr Baker and his mother.

Defence senior counsel Jim O’Mahony SC said that he believed a report from the governor of Cork Prison, where his client has been on remand since he was first charged with the offences, would assist the court given that his client has “spent a lot of his young life in custody”.

Judge Helen Boyle granted the state application to allow for the preparation of Victim Impact Statements and she also requested a governor’s report on Horgan. She adjourned sentencing until February 22nd and remanded Horgan in custody to appear again on that date.

It was reported at the time that Mr Baker was rushed by ambulance to Cork University Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery for serious head injuries and remained in a critical but stable condition for a period before being finally discharged from hospital.

Horgan has 17 previous convictions including for violent disorder, robbery and affray. Horgan also killed Ballincollig beautician Rachel Kiely on October 26, 2000, when she was walking her dog in a local park - he was just 16 years old at the time.

38-year-old Horgan has spent over 16 years in prison.